John Gibson skated into the crease on Thursday night, hoping to put his past performances behind him. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way, and Gibson ended up allowing five goals on 26 shots, delivering yet another poor performance.
It has become typical for Gibson, who is 0-4-1 across his last six games, with the only win in that span getting credited to Cam Talbot when Gibson left the Wings' Nov. 13 win over the Anaheim Ducks with an injury. In those past six games, Gibson has just a 0.864 save percentage, with 21 goals allowed in 154 shots.
For a team with playoff aspirations after 21 games, this kind of play in the crease can't continue. Gibson may have cost the Red Wings a second-round pick, among other assets that included Petr Mrazek, and you want to see a player you went out and traded for help your team.
But if that player isn't doing their job and you're in first place in the Atlantic as of Friday afternoon, then they need to look at other options.
One of the best solutions for the moment is lurking in the AHL
The popular X account Red Wings Diehards reminded fans that, "There’s a 6’6 G you drafted in the first round in 2021 who’s leading the AHL in GAA (1.60) and has a .940+ SV%. Doesn’t even cost you anything to add him, just gotta make a little room. He turns 23 tomorrow, and tonight you just got sub .900 from 36 for the 9th time in 12 tries."
Only one player fits that description. Sebastian Cossa has been lights-out in the AHL and is a major reason why the Grand Rapids Griffins have looked so good. To be exact, Cossa has a 0.942 save percentage going on, a shutout, and a 5-0-0 record.
While Cossa struggled in the net during the preseason, spending time in Grand Rapids has resurrected his confidence. With the Red Wings playing better-than-expected hockey, he will have a solid team that's capable of finishing in the Atlantic Division's top three spots in front of him.
In theory, he would be worth recalling with Gibson's poor performances. But that's just theory, and putting it into practice is more muddled.
Recalling Sebastian Cossa isn't without its drawbacks
One of the biggest issues with recalling Cossa and putting Gibson in the press box is that the Red Wings would be carrying three goaltenders. That would sacrifice an extra skater either at forward or on the blue line, and that would expose a veteran player on waivers.
The most likely candidates would be Elmer Soderblom, Jonatan Berggren, and Travis Hamonic. If the Wings want to keep that trio around, they'll need to send a waivers-exempt player to the AHL, like Nate Danielson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Emmitt Finnie, or Marco Kasper.
Why would they do that, considering the value all four of them have in Detroit? If the Red Wings want to cut their losses and see if they can just admit their mistake and try to trade Gibson (who has a 10-team modified no-trade list).
Trading John Gibson would be tough
The problem is that there may not be a team that wants to take a chance on Gibson, especially with his contract. That would force the Red Wings to retain part of what Gibson has remaining on his $6.4 million cap hit over the next two seasons. Unless a team on the bottom rung of the league is interested in helping with a three-team trade and absorbing some of his salary, that creates some difficulty.
Then, there's Gibson's short stint so far with the Red Wings. He has a 0.870 save percentage and a 3.46 GAA, with a 0.333 quality starts percentage. Would anyone realistically want to take a chance on him? Even a team that could use help in the crease would probably see if they had better options when they caught wind of Gibson's play.
In theory, yes, the Red Wings could have a great potential solution over in Grand Rapids. But with Gibson's massive contract coupled with his poor play, and the fact that recalling Cossa would put three netminders in Detroit, then there's little the Red Wings can do. As it stands, Gibson is literally standing in the way of any potential solution in the Red Wings' net.