One Year later: The John Gibson Trade

By Thomas Harrington

One year ago today, the Anaheim Ducks traded goaltender John Gibson to the Detroit Red Wings for goaltender Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second round pick, and a 2026 fourth round pick. Anaheim then traded the fourth round pick to Boston for forward Jeffrey Viel this past January.

The Ducks had originally drafted Gibson in the second round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, 39th overall. He made his NHL debut in the 2013-2014 season, and became an NHL regular in the 2016-2017 season. He was Anaheim’s starter for a number of solid seasons, but was also their starter through their rebuild. 

The Red Wings received Mrazek from the Chicago Blackhawks in March 2025. After acquiring him, Mrazek only played in five games to end the season with a 2-2 record, a 2.49 goals against average, a .902 save percentage, and one shutout. He was one of five goaltenders to play for Detroit that season; joining Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon, Ville Husso, and Sebastian Cossa.

By the time Gibson’s Anaheim career came to an end, he was ready for a fresh start while the Ducks were ready to make Lukas Dostal their starter. The Red Wings were looking to get back into the playoffs and were hoping an upgrade in net would help get them there. There aren’t many goaltending jobs in the NHL, so the Ducks were dealing with a limited pool, which is one of the reasons why goaltenders rarely bring back great returns.

Mrazek played in 10 games with the Ducks with a 3-5 record, a 4.07 goals against average, and a .858 save percentage. He played his last Anaheim game in early January. He was injured after that and eventually had season-ending surgery. Husso became Dostal’s backup for the rest of the season. Mrazek is a free agent this summer and will not be re-signed by the Ducks.

Gibson had a strong first season in Detroit, playing in 57 games with a record of 29-22-4, a 2.72 goals against average, a .901 save percentage, and four shutouts. His four shutouts were tied for third in the NHL. Unfortunately, Detroit took a nosedive towards the end of the season, and the Red Wings missed the playoffs for the 10th straight year. Gibson has one year left on his contract with Detroit and it remains to be seen if he extends with them or looks to become a free agent next summer.

Final Thoughts

A year later and both teams can look back on this deal as just okay. For the Ducks, they cleared out some cap space and showed that Dostal is their starter. Another important part of this for Anaheim was that they didn’t retain any of Gibson’s salary. However, what they got back wasn’t great. Mrazek didn’t play well, and the better of the two picks (and the one they still have) won’t even be made until next summer. Using the fourth to pick up Viel also helps make this deal a little better for the Ducks.

For Detroit, they got a good starter, but Gibson wasn’t good enough to lead them back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This wasn’t a big win for either team, but it also wasn’t really a loss for either team either. If the second round pick can become a star in the future, then this could become a win for the Ducks. If Gibson can lead the Red Wings back to the playoffs next season or beyond, then it could become a big win for them. For now, it’s just an okay deal for both sides with the potential to look better in the years to come.

Related Articles:

One Year Later: The Trevor Zegras Trade

One Year Later: The Chris Kreider Trade

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June 28th, 2026