There have been rumors lately linking John Gibson to the Oilers, and Elliotte Friedman reveals a shared crease as a reason that could prevent him from joining them. The Anaheim Ducks are one of the NHL's better goaltending duos, but horrible team metrics have kept them from reaching .500 since Dec. 1, <a href='https://www.nhl.com/standings/2025-02-09/wildcard' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>and now they are 24-24-6</a>. A year after back-to-back sub-60-point seasons, their rise in the standings has been largely because of Lukas Dostal and John Gibson. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/OilersNation/status/1888667064644317208'> </a></blockquote></div> With the league-average save percentage (.902) at its lowest since 2005-06, both goaltenders rank top 13 in SV% among those with at least 20 starts. <a href='https://www.nhl.com/ducks/player/lukas-dostal-8480843' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Dostal</a>, 24, has a .911 SV% and is fourth in goals saved above expected at 20.2, while <a href='https://www.nhl.com/ducks/player/john-gibson-8476434' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Gibson</a>, 31, has a .915 SV% and third with 14.6. Gibson, long a trade candidate, reportedly prefers the Hurricanes or Oilers as potential destinations. <h3>Gibson wants to be the #1</h3> The issue in Gibson landing with the Oilers, according to <a href='https://x.com/FriedgeHNIC' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Elliotte Friedman</a>, is that he wants to be a #1 goaltender and doesn't want to share the crease with Stuart Skinner. One of the things I'd heard during the season was that Gibson's preferences were Edmonton and Carolina, Friedman reported. Carolina, that dance with Gibson has been on and off. I didn't see it, but someone told me there was talk about the Oilers and Gibson. The one thing I kind of heard is that Gibson wants a situation where he's going to be the number one, and it's sort of going to be his job, Friedman continued. He wants to be the guy, and I don't know if a Gibson/Skinner duo is going to work for him. I think Gibson wants the chance to go on a run and prove he can be the guy on a top team. So if it's the Gibson/Skinner combo, I'm not sure that's going to appeal to him. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1888955367620555234'> </a></blockquote></div> The Edmonton Oilers are one win removed from the 2023-24 Stanley Cup and could look to upgrade upon Stuart Skinner's .901 SV% this season. But a key hurdle may be Gibson's $6.4M cap hit. The ask from Ducks GM Pat Verbeek is a king's ransom, and that likely includes a goalie. The closer to the trade deadline, the more likely contenders like Edmonton or Carolina could be to pay that price in order to shore up their crease.