Updated at 5:49 PM: Earlier this afternoon, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted an article about new Red Wings goaltender John Gibson, and MLive’s Ansar Khan noted that Gibson’s been somewhat pleasantly surprised by his new team’s speed and cohesion:
“I think there’s a really good mix of players,” Gibson said Friday from Traverse City. “You got the skilled forwards, smaller guys, you got some big power forwards, you got speed, you got size. The D, you got skill, size. Definitely get up and down the ice. You could tell the first two days are putting an emphasis on quickness. Todd goes to the board, and as soon as he’s done explaining, the drill starts. You can definitely see that everybody wants to play with a high tempo. One of the things I’ve noticed is they’re holding everybody (accountable), making sure everybody’s ready and not just moving slow around the ice or getting to the back of the line.”
As far as a goalie is concerned, Gibson said, “It’s making sure you’re on the same page with the D for the playing the puck, the calls, what to expect, block shots and the penalty kill. Other than that, I just got to be in the net and stop the puck.”
Gibson, 31, figures to be in the net a lot, perhaps for 50-plus games, which he’s done six times in his career. He played only 29 games last season (11-11-2, 2.73 goals-against average, .912 save percentage) due to multiple injuries and the emergence of young Lukas Dostal, the reason the Ducks traded him to the Red Wings on June 28 for goalie Petr Mrazek and second- (2027) and fourth-round (2026) picks.
Gibson, 31, still considers himself a workhorse. He partners with Cam Talbot, 38.
“I train all season, off-season, in the summer to make sure I’m in the best shape to play as many games as possible,” Gibson said. “I feel like in the past, when I can kind of get in a groove is when I’m playing games, but obviously nothing’s given. You got to earn everything.”
Continued (paywall);
Update: Here’s a little more from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen:
New Detroit Red Wings goalie John Gibson says he was “spoiled” early in his career when the Anaheim Ducks continually made the playoffs.
“My first five or six years…we were expecting to win the Pacific Division there was no thought to even missing the playoffs,” Gibson said. “It’s eye opening and you look back and being a young player through all that, you always wondered yourself, did you miss an opportunity? Did you take it for granted?
After four trips to the playoffs with Anaheim, Gibson hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2018. His drought is only two years less than the Red Wings.
“I think it makes you appreciate when you make the playoffs a lot more, being going through a drought like that and hungry to get back,” Gibson said.
But his background makes him the ideal candidate to help the Red Wings escape their ugly playoff slump. He understands what the Red Wings are enduring. He wants to return to the playoffs as much as they do.
“I think everybody’s going in the season with the same goal and it’s an exciting time to be here,” Gibson said.
