Red Wings acquire goalie John Gibson from the Ducks in a trade at the NHL draft

The Detroit Red Wings acquired John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, a trade of the veteran goaltender that could start the dominos falling around the NHL with several teams looking for help in net.

Detroit sent backup goalie Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-rounder to Anaheim for Gibson, whose name has been in trade rumors for several years. No salary was retained.

Back-to-back Western Conference champion Edmonton, rebuilding Philadelphia and others are expected to pursue a goaltender this offseason.

Gibson, 31, has spent his first 12 seasons in the league with Anaheim. He’s signed for two more at a salary cap hit of $6.4 million.

“We want to thank John for his time with our organization and being an integral part of the Ducks for more than a decade,” general manager Pat Verbeek said. “It became clear John wanted a new opportunity, and after many discussions with him we felt now was the right time to make this move.”

A couple of other trades were finalized Saturday while the draft was ongoing.

The Kings traded 24-year-old D-man Jordan Spence to Ottawa for the 67th pick and Colorado’s sixth-rounder in 2026. Buffalo also sent Connor Clifton and a second-round pick to Pittsburgh for Conor Timmins and Isaac Beliveau.

Washington signed 23-year-old forward Justin Sourdif for $1.65 million over two years after sending a second-round pick to two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida for the minor leaguer with four games of NHL experience. Sourdif scored a goal in his lone call-up this past season and had 10 points in 18 games on the Charlotte Checkers’ run to the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup Finals.

The Capitals are hoping Sourdif, making just over the league minimum at $825,000 annually, fills a hole on their second or third line. There was no room for upward mobility for Sourdif, especially after the Panthers signed playoff MVP Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64 million contract and could bring back winger Brad Marchand.

North of the border, the Calgary Flames extended 6-foot-6 Kevin Bahl to a six-year deal worth just over $32 million, while the Winnipeg Jets shored up their blue line depth by giving Haydn Fleury $1.9 million over the next two seasons. Bahl will count $5.35 million against the salary cap through 2030-31.

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