Shesterkin’s Injury Gives Detroit a John Gibson Trade Partner

The New York Rangers lost goalie Igor Shesterkin for the season on Oct. 9, when he came out to challenge a shooter at Washington, fell scrambling back and jammed his right skate into the post. The Rangers announced the next day that the knee injury would end his season, according to the Associated Press. Backup Joonas Korpisalo is out at least another four weeks with a lower-body injury, which leaves New York with Dylan Garand, a 24-year-old with five career NHL appearances, as the starter. Spencer Martin sits in Hartford as the recall option.

One name that fits is Detroit Red Wings goalie John Gibson. Detroit is 1-3-1 with three points through five games, the kind of start that turns a 33-year-old goalie on an expiring contract into an asset rather than a building block.

Chris Drury Is Already Shopping for a Goalie

This is not a case of a team that might eventually need help. Rangers general manager Chris Drury is already looking at veteran goalies, and Gibson is one of the names in that group alongside Jordan Binnington and Darcy Kuemper, per Pro Hockey Rumors. New York is 5-2-0 with 10 points, so this is a team with a reason to protect the start it has.

Why a John Gibson Trade Works for Both Teams

Gibson’s contract runs out at the end of the 2026-27 season, which is the whole appeal. The Rangers do not need a long-term answer in net. They need someone to hold the position while Korpisalo heals and Garand grows into the league, and then the commitment ends on its own.

Gibson’s own numbers are not the selling point. He has played four games for Detroit with a 1-3-0 record, a 3.43 goals-against average and an .862 save percentage, and he was pulled in Seattle after the fifth goal went in. The defense in front of him has not helped. A move to a team playing better in front of its goalie is the argument here, and it cuts both ways: Detroit is unlikely to re-sign a 33-year-old at the end of the year regardless.

What Detroit could actually get back is the open question. Jake Rivard of Octopus Thrower proposed a return as high as a second-round pick, though his version has conditions attached: Detroit retains part of the salary and Gibson signs off on the destination. That is a proposal, not a reported negotiation. A rental goalie with an .862 save percentage does not command a second-rounder on his play, so the price would come down to how badly New York wants the position settled.

Who Plays Goal in Detroit if Gibson Goes

Gibson and Daniil Tarasov are the only two goalies on Detroit’s NHL roster, so trading one of them means a call-up. Tarasov would take the starts, and Michal Postava is the likeliest name to come up from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins to back him up.

Trey Augustine is the more interesting long-term name, and he is in Grand Rapids too, but handing him a backup job in October because the team moved a veteran is not development. One of those two is likely to see NHL time in Detroit before the season ends either way. A John Gibson trade just decides whether that happens in November or in March.