Insider Links John Gibson To Struggling Western Conference Club

Four games into the season, it's not breaking news to say that the Colorado Avalanche situation is going from bad to worse. They have themselves a serious goaltending problem. They're dead last in the NHL not only with their 0-4 record, but their goals against per game at an atrocious 6.25 and their equally woeful save percentage of .794 are also bottom of the pack—by far.

Alexandar Georgiev, of course, is the main culprit, surrendering 17 goals on 85 shots for a .800 Sv% with a laughable 5.79 GAA. The 28-year-old is playing out the string in the final season of a $3.4 million cap hit. But his days as the Avalanche No. 1 goalie could be far more limited than the end of his contract next spring. The team has got to be looking seriously into finding a new puck-stopper ASAP.

"I think (GM) Chris MacFarland in Colorado really needs to dial it up right now and see what other options there are," said insider Dennis Bernstein on The Fourth Period's Game Day podcast.

Certainly, as a team that had Stanley Cup aspirations coming into the season, they need to do something, and quickly. Bernstein noted that one potential target should be the Anaheim Ducks' John Gibson, who has been on the trade block for a while now. There are a number of issues with this idea, however, so let's run through them:

1) There are three years remaining (including this one) on Gibson's contract with a $6.4 million cap hit.

2) Gibson is still recovering from an emergency appendectomy in September and isn't expected back for several more weeks.

3) Gibson simply hasn't been very good in recent seasons. He hasn't cracked the .900 save percentage mark since 2021-22, and his goals-against average hasn't been below 3.00 since the year before that.

To be fair, however, Gibson has been playing behind a very bad, rebuilding team in Anaheim in recent seasons. Perhaps a move to Colorado would bring out the best in the 31-year-old veteran. The Fourth Period notes that the Avs would have to throw a sweetener into the deal to take Gibson off the Ducks' hands, as well as getting them to retain half of that huge cap hit.

As mentioned, nothing can come of that for a few weeks, so McFarland has to hope that Georgiev turns things around quickly.