The 2019-20 season was a rough one for John Gibson, but he can hardly be blamed. The Anaheim Ducks are no longer a feared team in the Western Conference like they were for so many years, as their core has started to age. Despite the down year, it is important to remember that Gibson is still just 27-years-old, which seems crazy given how long he has already been in the league.
He proved for multiple seasons with a better roster in front of him just how good he is, and that talent certainly didn’t just disappear. While he is farther down this list than he would have been in years past, he can climb back up if he is able to have a better 2020-21 season.
The good news for the two-time NHL All-Star is that despite his team struggling the last few seasons, they may soon again be on the rise. The Ducks boast some excellent young talent that should soon be making an impact at the NHL level, perhaps as soon as the 2020-21 season. If that is the case, you can count on Gibson having a bounce back season.
What a story Robin Lehner has been. After inconsistent play plagued him for his first five full seasons in the league, many were left frustrated as it was clear just how talented he was. The inconsistencies made much more sense when the Swedish goaltender admitted after the 2017-18 season that he had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and was also struggling with alcohol addiction.
Since being open about his struggles and getting help, Lehner has went from a questionable number one to one of the best starting goalies in the entire league. After a terrific 2018-19 season with the New York Islanders, where he was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, he signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks who then dealt him at the 2020 trade deadline to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights, despite having future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury, chose to go with Lehner for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs and signed him to a five-year, $25 million deal shortly after.
As good as Lehner’s numbers have been over the past few seasons, you can expect them to be even better playing behind arguably the best lineup in the entire NHL. The Golden Knights are absolutely stacked and will be heavy Stanley Cup favorites for the upcoming season. He also has one of, if not the best ‘backups’ in the entire league in Fleury, who will allow him to get the rest he needs to stay on top of his game.
Lehner has a chance to find himself in the top five on this list next offseason.
Like Robin Lehner, Darcy Kuemper has really established himself as a top tier goalie over the past couple of seasons. Prior to joining the Arizona Coyotes, Kuemper had mainly been used as a backup with the Minnesota Wild which, in hindsight, was a big mistake.
Over the past two seasons, Kuemper has been one of the best goalies in the entire league, if not the best. Despite playing behind a questionable Coyotes roster, he has posted fantastic numbers and was considered the Vezina Trophy favorite before suffering a lower-body injury in mid-December.
The Coyotes, who were in a Playoff spot at the time, went on a massive slide down the standings after Kuemper’s injury, barely qualifying for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs despite the league going to a 24-team format rather than the usual 16.
Unfortunately for Kuemper, the Coyotes organization is a tire fire right now. The hope is that new General Manager Bill Armstrong can help straighten them out, but that remains to be seen. They seem to be going back into a rebuild state, and as a result there have been rumors they were calling teams regarding their starting netminder. Though nothing is imminent, getting traded to a better roster would be exactly what Kuemper needs to prove to the world just how good he is.