Rumor mill: John Gibson doesn’t want to play another game with the Ducks

Not so long ago, John Gibson was considered one of the NHL’s elite goaltenders. However, the Ducks’ goalie, who had an excellent start to his career, has just endured a few difficult seasons, including a dreadful 2022-23 campaign.

I’m willing to believe that he was on a terrible team, but a goals-against average of 3.99 and a save percentage of 0.899 is bad. Very bad indeed.

And now we learn that Gibson has had it with the Ducks. According to Frank Seravalli, the goaltender has requested a trade and even noted that he “won’t play another game” with the team.

Nothing less.

At an annual salary of $6.4 million for the next four seasons, I wonder if any team will be willing to acquire him, especially considering his recent failures. And if the rumor that Jeremy Swayman wants to be traded for family reasons is true (which I doubt), teams will be far more interested in the Bruins’ goalie than the Ducks’.

A case to follow, then, but Gibson seems to have had enough of the Ducks. It remains to be seen whether any team will dare go after him.

Alex DeBrincat: the salary aspect would repel teams

The situation surrounding Alex DeBrincat over the past few weeks has been fascinating. The Senators forward doesn’t want to sign a long-term contract with the Ottawa team, and since he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in a year’s time, the team would like to trade him as soon as possible.

However, negotiations don’t seem to be progressing very well, and according to Darren Dreger, part of the problem could be salary: teams feel he wants a Timo Meier-style contract ($8.8 million a year for eight years), but they think he might be more of a Jesper Bratt ($7.875 million a year for eight years).

So there’s a big gap between what teams would be willing to offer him and what the little maverick would like to get.

We’re continuing to monitor the situation, but more and more, I’m wondering if there isn’t a scenario in which DeBrincat starts next season in Ottawa. Everything can change with a phone call, though.

Patrick Kane could sign after the start of the season

Last year, Patrick Kane finally left the Blackhawks, switching to the Rangers at the trade deadline. However, he had a difficult end to the season, and in the end had to go under the knife.

As a result, he’s not healthy right now, and could miss the start of next season.

According to Elliotte Friedman, it’s likely that Kane will wait until he’s healthy before signing with a team. That means he could have to wait several more weeks.

I think he’ll want a deal before training camp opens (if only to ensure a good salary), but Friedman’s scenario makes sense too.

I look forward to seeing where (and when) Kane signs, personally.

We can expect another Bruins deal (but not Rangers)

With the salary cap essentially frozen for the past few years in the NHL, many teams are struggling to keep their heads above water. Among them are the Bruins and Rangers, who are working hard to keep their core as intact as possible.

They still have money right now, but both the Rangers (Alexis Lafrenière and K’Andre Miller) and the Bruins (Jeremy Swayman and Trent Frederic) have restricted free agents to sign. And in the Bruins’ case, there’s always the possibility that Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci will return.

For the Rangers, then, we can expect the club to be quiet in the coming weeks. In the Bruins’ case, however, Ray Ferraro has the impression that there could very well be a transaction, given the state of the club’s center line.

Currently, it’s made up of Pavel Zacha, Trent Frederic (who has yet to sign a contract) and Charlie Coyle. Not ideal.

Will the club wait to hear from Bergeron and Krejci before considering a deal? Possibly.

We’ll keep an eye on it.

In gusto

– Laval signs four players, including CH prospect Jared Davidson and defenseman Tobie Paquette-Bisson.

– Joel Edmundson will wear #6 in Washington.

Joel Edmundson will wear 6️⃣ with the Washington Capitals #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/o77tjKVlaF

– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 3, 2023

– Adam Engström confirms he will spend next season in Europe.

– An old video in which Max Domi admits to “hating the Leafs ” resurfaces. [Fanadiens]

– Transaction in the MLB.