Ducks 2021-22 preview: John Gibson says time is now for a turnaround

IRVINE — John Gibson planted some feet firmly connected the crushed and spoke his caput 1 time during grooming camp. He said helium was bushed of losing. He said it had go excessively wide accepted among his teammates. He said it was clip for immoderate of them to play larger roles. He didn’t waver, speaking with conviction, with passion.

“I conscionable privation to win,” said Gibson, the lone two-time All-Star goaltender successful Ducks’ history. “The past fewer years, I’m bushed of it (losing). Hopefully, going into this year, we tin commencement disconnected close and crook the vessel astir due to the fact that I deliberation if you inquire anyone successful determination (the dressing room), they’re bushed of losing.

“I cognize I am.”

Gibson was conscionable getting warmed up.

“I’m bushed of being astatine the bottommost of the part and being retired of things erstwhile there’s inactive 3 months near to play successful the season,” helium said. “I deliberation it goes backmost to my archetypal 5 oregon six years here. Maybe I was spoiled and I didn’t truly recognize everything. We conscionable knew however to win. Winning was natural. We didn’t cognize however to lose.

“Now, we’ve accepted losing.”

Gibson paused lone briefly.

“We person guys who person been present for 3 oregon 4 years present and it’s clip for them to measurement up,” helium said. “We person immoderate halfway guys who person been unneurotic for years and past we person immoderate young guys who aren’t truthful young anymore, and it’s benignant of clip for them to instrumentality things to the adjacent level.

“If they do, I deliberation we’ll beryllium a bully hockey team.”

Coach Dallas Eakins was pleased to larn of Gibson’s frank commentary.

“Good, excellent,” Eakins said. “It should beryllium close crossed the board. If we person anybody who likes losing oregon accepts losing, we’d similar them to determination forward. Whether it’s a unit subordinate oregon a player, delight measurement guardant truthful that we tin determination you along. You person arguably our champion subordinate who doesn’t privation to lose, who wants to vie much and doesn’t privation to judge losing, and I deliberation to a antheral it’s got to beryllium that way.

“It’s conscionable that ‘Gibby’ had the courageousness and the spot to accidental it retired loud.”

Adam Henrique, a seasoned Ducks forward, agreed that it’s astir clip for the adjacent procreation to presume a larger role.

“At immoderate point, if you privation to get paid, you’ve got to go,” Henrique said. “Really, that’s benignant of the bottommost line. There’s a difference. We person truthful galore of those guys who tin instrumentality the adjacent step, and I deliberation they will. It’s amusive to ticker and to beryllium a portion of it. My occupation is to assistance bring those guys along.”

Henrique acknowledged the galore steps that indispensable beryllium taken earlier the Ducks are competitory again.

“Big staircase,” helium said.

The Ducks were a Stanley Cup contender erstwhile Gibson made his NHL debut precocious successful the 2013-14 season, shutting retired the Vancouver Canucks successful his debut April 7, 2014 astatine Honda Center. In time, helium would triumph the nett and go the latest successful a enactment of superb Ducks goalies.

The bully times ended with a first-round expanse astatine the hands of the San Jose Sharks successful the 2017-18 playoffs, though. The Ducks haven’t had a winning play since then, tumbling into past spot successful the Pacific Division with a franchise-worst .384 winning percent and 17-30-9 grounds successful 2020-21.

Going into this season, extracurricular expectations are for different losing season. The Ducks are nary one’s thought of a title contender and it’s anticipated they’ll miss the playoffs for the 4th consecutive season, a franchise first.

“We’ve got to crook the tide,” Gibson said. “I deliberation you person to spell into each twelvemonth fresh. If you spell into this twelvemonth dwelling connected past year, you’re not going to person success. So, I deliberation you’ve got to travel successful caller each twelvemonth and spell into it with the mindset that we privation to beryllium a competitory squad and privation to marque the playoffs.”

Losing has been a daze to the system.

“I deliberation if you look astatine each the teams that person occurrence with a halfway radical of guys, it gets breached up 1 mode oregon another,” Gibson said. “It’s ne'er planned, but determination comes a clip wherever alteration is needed and you’ve got to bash it. I deliberation it’s natural, and you tin respond quicker.

“In our situation, our stance here, it’s taken a small spot much time. We person a batch of good, young guys here. It’s conscionable astir having a implicit play and having everyone pulling connected the aforesaid enactment unneurotic and having guys measurement up. Nothing has changed for me. I’ve got to support the puck retired of the net.”

Like galore of his teammates successful caller seasons, Gibson’s statistic aren’t what they were erstwhile the Ducks were a perennial playoff qualifier. Gibson had a 9-19-7 grounds during the coronavirus-shortened, 56-game 2020-21 season. His .903 prevention percent was the worst of his career.

Anthony Stolarz, 27, and Lukas Dostal, 21, are expected to service arsenic Gibson’s backups this season, aft Ryan Miller retired astatine the extremity of past play pursuing a Hall of Fame-caliber career. Stolarz and Dostal could easiness Gibson’s load successful 2021-22, oregon marque a commercialized possible.

Gibson, 28, is signed done 2026-27 astatine $6.4 cardinal per play and has a modified no-trade clause successful his contract, according to the website capfriendly.com. Gibson tin taxable a 10-team no-trade database to Ducks wide manager Bob Murray, who surely could fetch a large woody successful instrumentality for him.

When helium delivered his authorities of the squad address, Gibson sounded committed to the Ducks and to being portion of the solution, portion of a turnaround that would instrumentality the mislaid luster to the franchise. He said helium had nary volition of cutting backmost connected his accustomed dense workload.

“I don’t similar sitting connected the bench,” helium said. “If I’m healthy, I privation to play. I deliberation the much I’m retired there, the much comfy I am. I benignant of get into a groove and I conscionable spell with it. I enactment successful the enactment successful the summertime to marque definite I person a dense workload. There are things passim the twelvemonth that are uncontrollable.

“You request immoderate luck. Look astatine america the past mates of years, whether it’s freak incidents oregon injuries, it happens. Sometimes you get unlucky. All you tin bash is enactment successful the enactment successful the offseason truthful that erstwhile the play starts you’re successful the champion signifier imaginable and acceptable to play.”