Ducks Trade John Gibson To Detroit

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks have traded John Gibson to the Detroit Red Wings for Petr Mrazek and two future draft picks per Elliotte Friedman. The two picks ended up being a fourth round pick in 2026 and a second round pick in 2027 per multiple reports. The Ducks did not retain any salary. The trade was later confirmed by the Ducks.

After several years of rumors, Gibson was finally traded. There were rumors about going to teams like Carolina or Edmonton, but ultimately he was traded to Detroit.

Analysis:

General Manager Pat Verbeek freed up about $2.15 mil this season with the trading of the goalies. Gibson’s cap hit was $6.4 mil this year and Mrazek’s was $4.25 mil. His contract expires at the end of this season, so Anaheim cleared $6.4 mil for the 2026-27 season. The Ducks have the current RFAs of Lukas Dostal, Drew Helleson, Brett Leason, Isac Lundestrom, and Mason McTavish to resign. Anahem also has several RFAs next summer to consider resigning which include Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Jackson’s LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger, pending any more trades.

The Ducks also got two future draft picks in 2026 and 2027 to either pick future players or make future trades with those picks. Verbeek was able to clear cap space by not retaining any of Gibson’s salary while getting a quality backup for Dostal and stocked up on picks. This was a solid piece of work by Verbeek, though some might have wanted a 1st draft round pick as part of the return instead. If Verbeek wanted a 1st as part of the return, then he would have likely had to retain part of Gibson’s contract. Also Gibson’s value took a hit during the last few seasons with his injury issues.

The Ducks currently have about $38 million in cap space to resign their five current RFAs and then take some big swings next week in free agency. The Ducks have been reportedly in on top free agent forwards. Some of those names available include Mitch Marner, Mikael Granlund, Nikolaj Ehlers, Brad Marchand, and Brock Boeser. There is also the question of whether Jason Robertson will be available via trade out in Dallas. Aaron Ekblad, who is friends with Jacob Trouba, is another name to watch who could be on Anaheim’s radar as well.

Gibson played in 506 regular season games with Anaheim and posted a record of 204-217-63. He had a SV% of .910% and GAA of 2.89. Mrazek played in 429 career regular season games posting a record of 180-176-40. He had a SV% of .906% and GAA 2.85. Detroit ended up getting a number one goalie for their team and Anaheim got a quality goalie who can serve as a 1B to Dostal. This will give Anaheim time to see if one of their young goalies in the pipeline will be NHL ready for the 2026-27 season.

Steve Yzerman spoke on NHL Network shortly after the trade and mentioned he had talked to Verbeek at the trade deadline about Gibson. A trade didn’t materialize because Gibson was dealing with injuries. Yzerman mentioned how Gibson had been looking for a new start at a place where he can play many games. That will be the case as he will be the number one goalie in Detroit.

Verbeek also went on NHL Network and mentioned he had been working with Gibson’s agent for a while because he was looking for a change. He said this was a similar situation like the one with Cam Fowler. He mentioned trying to move Gibson at the last deadline, but him being injured prevented that. In regard to free agency, Verbeek said he is looking to improve scoring and would like to add on defense as well.

Good luck with the Red Wings Gibson!

Update (6-29-25):

On the 32 Thoughts podcast today, Elliotte Friedman discussed how Yzerman and Verbeek tried to make a deal happen for Gibson at the last trade deadline. Since Gibson was injured at the time the trade didn’t materialize. Friedman felt the value for Gibson could have been higher, but he stated Verbeek was adamant on not retaining any salary. He mentioned how Detroit got the number goalie that they were looking for, but the main question is whether Gibson can stay healthy or not.

There was a funny story going around at the draft that the deal was delayed possibly because Mrazek lost his phone or dropped it in water. The story is not 100% confirmed, but funny if true.

Friedman mentioned there were several teams interested in McQueen and thinks some might have tried to trade up above the 10th overall to get him. McQueen is the type of player Verbeek likes and teams felt he wouldn’t be drafted lower than 10th overall. Lastly, Friedman brought up the back injury McQueen dealt with before and heard it shouldn’t be a major concern.

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June 28th, 2025