Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Goaltender Options for the 2022-23 Season

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Mar 6, 2020; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson (36) makes a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Toronto Maple Leafs Option No. 2: John Gibson

The Leafs have made a trade for an Anaheim Ducks goaltender before, so they could definitely do it again, as rumors are flying about them being interested in John Gibson.

The American-born goaltender was unbelievable three years ago, but his stats haven’t been that spectacular since. Clearly, his stats don’t show the entire picture because the team in front of him as been much worse, but it’s never great to see his SV% dip close to .900, when he’s a career .915 goaltender.

Gibson, however, is only 28-years-old and makes $6.4M per season. That cap-hit may seem high but a Petr Mrazek and Alex Kerfoot trade pays for that contract pretty quickly.

When it comes to the playoffs, you want steady goaltending. You don’t want to “hope” for that, but instead want to know that it’s going to happen. Compared to Campbell, Gibson is more of a sure-thing when the playoffs hit, as he’s shown in the past that he can help his team win a few rounds.

During the 2017 playoffs, Gibson played 16 games and had a 2.59 GAA and .918 SV%, as the Ducks came ever so close to reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. With a solid defensive-core in front of him, Gibson could be the real number-one goalie that Toronto has been missing. (all stats from hockeyreference.com).

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