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Goaltending was solid for most of last year. Bernier was put in a tough position, and was unable to answer the call. While Gibson has all the intangibles, the knock on him has been his health. It’s an interesting time in Gibson’s career. Not only has he had strong stats, but he’s also had playoff success. He has 2 years left on his current contract, and while he is still a RFA, I know he knows the importance of showing management he can be relied on. All I’m saying is a healthy season will make a big difference when him and his agent start to renegotiate next year.
The thing is, that you’ve heard in the Ducks circles around the web, is that the discipline necessary for warmup/warmdown, physical maintenance, ext... hasn’t been where it needs to be to play 60 games. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but like I said, it’s an interesting time in his career.
Because let me say this, Gibson wasn’t himself at the beginning of last year. When #36 is on his game, he’s one of the best goalies in the league at challenging opposing forwards in front of the net. Gibson in top form, it’s just a montage of one GTFO save after another. I’m hoping that’s the Gibson we’ll be seeing.
As for Miller, he’s the veteran. Him and Beauchemin were the veteran acquisitions. Kind of like the Bieksa trade 2 years ago or the Vermette signing last year. This team has some vets, and Miller’s one of them. These are good guys, but the window of opportunity is closing. I don’t want to be that guy, and say, “now or never,” but … So yeah, there are some good dudes on this team to keep some of the prima donnas from, ya know…
Lastly, to my dismay, Gove left out Reto. Is Reto Berra the odd goalie out? It’s almost a guarantee. Does 2+2=4? I rest my case. However, as everyone knows, Reto’s a great person, and it was worth noting. |
