Friedman: Ducks know what they have in Gibson

As part of his Tuesday interview with Sportsnet 960, Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman detailed not only the confidence the Anaheim Ducks currently have with rookie goaltender John Gibson between the pipes - but the confidence in him they've had all along.

"The one thing about Gibson is, I think the Ducks believed he was the best goalie. If you look at Anaheim, they're a budget team. They've got a number they clearly can't go over. You look at what they did at the deadline - they traded Penner for a pick, they traded Fasth to Edmonton for a pick and they got Robidas.

"And if you've been watching them all year, they were constantly sending guys down to the minors. Those guys like Smith-Pelly and Etem and Rakell and even Gibson when he was up a couple of times. They'd spend a game in and then they'd go back and when a team does that, it's for cap reasons.

"And Gibson wasn't in the NHL this year, No. 1, because they wanted him to play at the NHL level and they didn't want him to back up at the NHL level - that's stupid, a waste of time. And No. 2, because they had all these goalies under contract, they couldn't afford it.

"But I do think for some time now, the Ducks have believed that Gibson was their best and their future and I know at the trade deadline, teams called Bob Murray about him and he basically told them to get lost. So they know what they have here.

"Finally it worked into a situation where Boudreau could say, alright, because Andersen was hurt, we need him up here anyway, so I'm going to play him. And I think it was the organizational decision - and sooner or later he's going to lose, we don't think he's going to through his career unbeaten - but I think the players believe too... like, sometimes when a backup goalie or a young goalie comes in in this situation, the players look around and they're like, 'oh boy, we're doomed.' I don't think they think that there. I think they believe he's that good, he's their best and they're happy to ride him."

Source: Sportsnet 960