“Honored to Be a Member”: As Rumors Suggest High-Profile Exit of Anaheim Ducks Goalie John Gibson, NHL Star’s Agent Smashes All Claims

On July 1, 2023, the world of NHL woke up to surprising news. Rumors were afoot, fans were worried, and the community was awash with gossip. About what? Apparently, Frank Seravalli, who is the Hockey Insider and the President of Hockey Content for the Daily FaceOff, claimed that the long-time goaltender of the Anaheim Ducks, John Gibson, was demanding a trade, ready to leave the team.

With the position Seravalli holds, one would assume his prediction or information is right. However, his claim has been refuted by the organization that represents Gibson, namely KO Sports, Inc. The CEO of the agency, Kurt Overhardt, took to Twitter to share a press release negating the information shared by Seravalli. This led to a mini Twitter war between the two. Now, the NHL community is in turmoil over the news, not knowing who to believe.

Is this the end of the journey of John Gibson with the Anaheim Ducks?

It all began when Frank Seravalli gave an appearance on the 121st episode of the Nasty Knuckles podcast, and revealed that according to him, Gibson was done playing for the Anaheim Ducks and was demanding a trade. According to Seravalli, the ongoing rebuild of the Anaheim Ducks has driven the veteran goalkeeper to join another team. This controversy has arisen after the team finished last the previous season, with just 58 points on the board.

During the podcast, the Daily FaceOff reporter claimed that John Gibson was experiencing a lack of support from his team and was “getting absolutely pummelled with shots on a nightly basis”. Therefore, he wanted a trade as they had “next to no chance to win.” This declaration was vehemently opposed by Kurt Overhardt, the CEO of KO Sports, Inc. in a statement that was issued on their official Twitter handle. In the statement, the agency revealed that the contentions made by Seravalli were “false, unjust and inflammatory” and added that Gibson was “honored to be a member of the Anaheim Ducks”.

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Overhardt further claimed that Seravalli had not confirmed this fact with the agency or Gibson and that the podcast was released with an “inaccurate report”. To this, Frank Seravalli replied with a Tweet, reminding the CEO of the time when KO Sports claimed that the reporter had spread false news. The incident in question was when Seravalli had previously reported, in 2020, that David Ludwig had left KO Sports for Arizona Coyotes. At the time, KO Sports had denied that fact. Although, the same was confirmed a couple of days later. Only time will tell whether this current prediction regarding Gibson will come true or not.

Is the goalie tired?

According to the statement issued by KO Sports, John Gibson is still a “committed supporter of its fanbase, as well as the Ducks’ community.” The veteran goalkeeper was a second-round pick by the Ducks in the 2011 draft and has spent his entire career with the team. The Anaheim Ducks, however, have not made to the playoffs since the 2017-2018 season, before which they had first-place finishes in the Pacific Division five times consecutively from 2012 to 2017.

John Gibson has also not performed well with the Anaheim Ducks, especially this season. Having one of the highest averages in the NHL, with a 0.912, Gibson is one of the best goalies around. The past season, however, he exhibited career lows with the team, a 0.899 save percentage, and a 3.99 goals-against average. With KO Sports opposing the news, and Seravalli and statistics taking another stance, we can only wait and watch to see how the situation unfolds.

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