Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson underwent an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday night and will be sidelined for three to six weeks, the team said Thursday.
Gibson, 31, has played since the 2013-14 season for the Ducks, who selected him in the second round of the 2011 NHL Draft. The three-time All-Star is the Ducks’ all-time leader in games played by a goalie (477) and saves (13,294), and he ranks second in wins (193) and third in shutouts (24).
Last season, he was 13-27-2 with an .888 save percentage and a 3.54 goals-against average. His career record is 193-206-61, with a .910 save percentage and a 2.90 GAA.
Gibson has over the past four seasons, according to the team, been one of four league goalies with 5,000-plus saves (5,533), along with Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck (6,648), Nashville’s Juuse Saros (6,529) and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (5,901). Gibson also ranks 10th in starts (187) and 11th in appearances (190) during that period, according to the Ducks.
He was selected to the NHL All-Rookie first team in 2015-16, when he and Frederik Andersen earned the William M. Jennings Trophy for the goalies playing a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals allowed. Gibson was 21-13-4 with a .920 save percentage, a 2.07 GAA and 79 goals allowed in 40 games (38 starts).
He led the NHL in losses three times (2019-20, 2020-21, 2022-23) and in overtime losses in 2021-22, as well as in goals allowed in 2022-23 (200).
Gibson did not play in the Sharks’ 4-3 preseason-opening victory Tuesday night over the host San Jose Sharks. Anaheim opens the regular season Oct. 12 at San Jose.