Season-opening rosters from all 32 NHL clubs needed to be salary-cap compliant by Monday, Oct. 7, at 2 pm PST, and the NHL regular season is now underway.
Ducks Claim James Reimer off Waivers
In anticipation of their seasons, teams with non-waiver-exempt players have been placing the pieces they desire to reassign to the AHL on waivers. Several players have been claimed off the waiver wire, and 23-player rosters (maximum) are in effect.
The Anaheim Ducks will enter the 2024-25 season with a 23-player roster consisting of 13 forwards, eight defensemen, and three goaltenders (one injured).
On Sept. 26, the Ducks saw their longest-tenured netminder in franchise history, John Gibson (31), leave team practice and receive an emergency appendectomy.
His timeline for recovery was set at three to six weeks, and as of Monday (when rosters were submitted to the NHL), that timeline is now one to four weeks.
59 players, including several goaltenders, were placed on waivers Sunday in anticipation of the deadline for opening roster submissions.
Remaining Roster Questions: How Will the Ducks Manage Carrying Eight Defensemen on their Roster?
The Ducks had the third-highest priority to claim a player off the waiver wire and used it to claim veteran goalie James Reimer (36). They simultaneously placed Gibson on injured reserve and reassigned prospect Calle Clang to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL.
Following six seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs to start his NHL career, Reimer has bounced around in the last eight seasons from the San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, and most recently, the Detroit Red Wings.
He appeared in 25 games for the Detroit Red Wings in 2023-24, sporting a .904 SV% and saving 1.45 goals above expected.
The Ducks Goaltending Outlook for 2024-25
Reimer signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres on July 2 but was waived in favor of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi.
With Lukas Dostal (24) and Reimer making up the opening tandem in Anaheim, the question remains regarding what will happen when Gibson returns from injury.
The most likely scenario indicates Reimer will return to waivers, freeing opposing teams to claim him once Gibson is healthy and returns from injured reserve. If Buffalo is the only team to place a claim on Reimer, they can reassign him to the AHL without needing waivers.
For the past several seasons, Gibson has been surrounded by trade speculation and rumors.
Opinion: Gibson trade not needed for Ducks
Sportsnet’s premier NHL insider, Elliotte Friedman, believes the Ducks and Gibson are and have been searching for suitable teams with whom to facilitate a trade.
“I believe the Ducks and Gibson have been working together to try to find him a new home,” Friedman stated on his ’32 Thoughts’ podcast. “I’m under the impression with Gibson that even though he’s got a trade list, he is willing to consider more situations.”
Gibson has three years remaining on his eight-year contract that carries an AAV of $6.4 million and a ten-team no-trade clause.
Lukas Dostal: 2024 IIHF Male Player of the Year Award Finalist
Gibson’s traditional and underlying statistics have been underwhelming for the past five seasons, but the Ducks haven’t placed him in the best on-ice environment, defensively bleeding high-danger chances for the better part of a decade.
On talent, it could be argued Gibson remains one of the better goaltenders in the NHL. However, given his contract, recent numbers, and a lower priority placed on the goaltending position throughout the NHL, Gibson will likely remain a difficult player for Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek to trade.
The Ducks currently have $19,685,833 in projected cap space and are $3,658,833 over the salary cap floor. Until Gibson and/or his contract are negatively affecting the long-term outlook for the Ducks, Verbeek doesn’t have an incentive to trade him in a deal that doesn’t help his team and has seemingly set the price of acquisition relatively high.
The NHL landscape is ever-changing and ever-evolving. An injury or an early underwhelming performance in net from a goaltender on a contending team could set the wheels in motion for Verbeek to move Gibson.
With his timeline to return set for mid-to-late October, it would likely require a severely desperate club quickly willing to pivot and match Verbeek’s ask before the Ducks have to remove a player from their roster upon Gibson’s return.
Verbeek and the Ducks have indicated they are comfortable with their outlook in net, set for a tandem deployment of Dostal and Gibson for the 2024-25 season. Unless an unforeseen circumstance arises in the next one to four weeks as Gibson recovers, there’s no reason to believe that will shift.
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