Ducks' John Gibson to miss start of season after appendectomy surgery

The Anaheim Ducks announced netminder John Gibson will miss the start of the regular season after undergoing appendectomy surgery Wednesday night. The surgery is performed to remove the appendix and it will keep Gibson sidelined for the next three to six weeks.

The timing of the surgery concerning the NHL calendar indicates that Gibson was diagnosed with appendicitis within the last couple of days necessitating the surgery. Anaheim is set to take on the San Jose Sharks for their season opener just before the three-week mark. Gibson will miss between three and 12 games for the Ducks to start the season.

Gibson has started in 50 games or more in six out of the last eight seasons since becoming Anaheim’s undisputed starter in the 2016-17 season. He played to an all-star caliber level from 2015-19 with a 103-69-28 record in 204 starts with a .922 save percentage. Gibson’s impressive play over those four years led Anaheim to sign him to an eight-year, $51.2M contract which Gibson is still on today.

Unfortunately, Gibson’s performance has been strongly correlated to that of the Ducks organization as a whole with the organization not making the playoffs since the 2017-18 season. The Pittsburgh native has accrued a dismal win percentage of 31.1% in 238 starts since the start of the 2019-20 season with a .900 SV% and 3.36 GAA. 

The ratio of his starts that have resulted in an .850 SV% or lower has also doubled over the last five years going from 11.4% from 2013-19 to 21.8% from 2020-24.

Gibson will have a few more weeks until he starts the regular season meaning backup goaltender Lukas Dostal will take over between the pipes. He was marginally impressive during the 2023-24 season but was still one of the bright spots in the Ducks campaign. 

Dostal finished the 2023-24 season with fewer starts than Gibson (38) but secured a 14-23-3 record giving him a win percentage of 36.8%; slightly better than Anaheim’s win percentage of 32.9%.