It appears to be the franchise's design that John Gibson will not be the back-up behind Frederik Andersen to start the season, rather he'll likely continue to develop with starts in the AHL. This would be the short-term plan, for the time being, and with a new 3-year contract extension signed today, Gibson has the comfort of knowing that he still exists in the team's long-term plans.
Gibson's new deal, which kicks off in the 2017 season, will give him a cap hit of $2.3 million per season, acting as somewhat of a bridge deal, as he comes out of his entry-level deal after this season.
Last season, Gibson was the 39th ranked goaltender in hockey pool scoring, winning 13 games and picking up a shutout for 28 points. For the upcoming season, the Ducks have signed on Anton Khudobin to take over the back-up duties and he'll likely play second fiddle to the starter all year. If Andersen was to go down or falter, it would seem far more likely that Gibson would then get the call to start.
With that being said, projections have to be tempered this season and unless you think Gibson is going to make that jump ahead of Andersen before the season starts, I may not advise on going too high. A couple of the magazines seem to believe that Gibson will still play a large role in Anaheim this year, but the proof will be in his assignment at the end of camp.
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