ANAHEIM, Calif. — When it is all said and done, John Gibson needed a trade to happen. Perhaps in the worst way. So did the Anaheim Ducks.

A trade to reboot his career, to give him a fresh start, perhaps the freshest of starts that any NHL player with some kind of pedigree like his has. A trade by the Ducks to open the way for Lukáš Dostál to be the clear No. 1 goalie after the younger netminder staked his claim to that role last season.

A professional divorce had to happen so each could move on. And on June 28, reality finally ended the years of rumors that both sides desired a parting, or at the very least coveted a quiet separation. It felt like Gibson’s name in the NHL rumor mill had as long a stay as Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” on the Billboard album charts.

“I think it was time for me to get a change obviously,” Gibson told The Athletic as he munched on a recent post-practice lunch. “And Dosty there, giving him the shot. I think for both sides it was good.”

The Ducks ended Gibson’s 12-year Janus-like stay in Orange County by dealing him to the Detroit Red Wings for backup goalie Petr Mrázek, a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round selection. And with the Red Wings on a road trip in Southern California, it means a reunion is at hand Friday night.

Not with his old team, of course, but with a fan base that cheered him on as an ascending star goalie with Vezina Trophy-level talent that fell short of icon status and didn’t backstop the Ducks to greatness but, for years, often propped up a deficient club that slid into mediocrity and then disrepute for the sheer act of playing quality hockey.

He’ll have his net on Friday night at Honda Center. A different one while wearing different colors.

“We’ll see how it is,” Gibson said when asked what he thought about the reaction he’ll get. “I’ve spent a lot of time here. It’s more of the relationships that we built, me and my wife and my family. Starting a family here and just all those relationships with the people in the community, with the sled hockey program and all that.

“I wish I was in town a little longer just to maybe see some more people and all that, but it’ll be fun. I gave the organization everything I had for the 12 years. Hopefully the fans appreciate that. Aside from that, hopefully just try to get a win.”

The slate that Gibson left with the Ducks lays out what his career was like with a franchise that twisted and turned sharply midway through. There are 204 victories that rank second in the franchise annals and a significant milestone of 500 starts. A William M. Jennings Trophy won in tandem with Frederik Andersen. There are also 219 regulation defeats. Three seasons where he had the most among NHL goalies.

Few netminders of Gibson’s once-heralded stature have had such a two-sided tenure with one franchise. So many should-haves when you start to assess it. Should have passed Ducks legend Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the most wins by an Anaheim goalie. Should have nudged aside Giguere as Anaheim’s greatest netminder. Should have won a Vezina. Should have had better playoff success. His one long playoff run in 2017 ended with being among the injured for Nashville’s Western Conference-clinching Game 6.

But there are also the shouldn’t-haves. Shouldn’t have been left exposed so often behind slipshod defense and teammates who couldn’t clear pucks out of their own end, much less control the flow of the play. Shouldn’t have been worn down by facing a multitude of golden scoring chances night after night after fantastic starts to seasons. Shouldn’t have been dogged by injury so much. Shouldn’t have had more of his prime years wasted in a long rebuild that only general manager Pat Verbeek earnestly accepted.

Troy Terry and John Gibson at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game at T-Mobile Arena on February 05, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

“My first couple of years, it felt like … I can’t tell you how many times I left the rink feeling guilty and bad for John Gibson,” Ducks right wing Troy Terry said. “I mean, he was playing at that level and was being hung out to dry a lot of nights and still just kept playing through it. And it’s no secret, it was hard. Especially when you start your career going to long playoff runs and then all of a sudden the team’s in a full transition.

“There were countless nights where he kept things closer than they probably should have been. It wasn’t always easy. I look back and even his last season, he was a huge part of our team leadership-wise and never kind of wavered on that side of things.”

Those 12 years with the Ducks can almost be broken neatly into two-sided halves. The first six years of Gibson: a 119-77-28 record, .921 save percentage, 2.42 goals-against average, 18 shutouts. The next five years: 74-129-33, .900, 3.36, six shutouts.

Where did Anaheim finish in the overall league standings after that low point for their star goalie? Try 27th, 30th, 23rd, 32nd and 30th.

“It was a hard probably five, six years,” Gibson said. “That’s the easiest and best way to describe it. It was a lot of stuff going on. I’ll say it was hard.”

For a long while, it stayed that way as Gibson was a highly paid netminder stuck with term remaining on a bad team after signing an eight-year extension in 2018 following his career 2017-18 season. A revival in 2024-25 paved the way for a trade to finally occur.

While the Ducks slowly began to emerge from their years-long abyss and Dostál showed he was ready to grab the net as a lead guy, Gibson made 28 starts and had his best season in years. His 2.77 GAA was the lowest since 2018-19, while his .917 save percentage was his highest since that same year. That attracted Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman, who sought an upgrade over Cam Talbot or at least a better pair with the veteran.

It didn’t hurt that Gibson’s contract was whittled down to just two years remaining and his old front office buddy, Anaheim GM Pat Verbeek, was willing to take back Mrázek’s contract in return. The early returns for the 32-year-old have been positive in Motown. He’s won four of his last five starts, including a 20-save effort Thursday in a 5-2 win at St. Louis.

“I’m glad he’s in our net now,” said Red Wings coach Todd McLellan, who went against Gibson often while coaching in the Western Conference. “It’s been a pleasure to see him practice, play. The calming factor that he has on the team is pretty big right now. Some would say, ‘Look at his numbers, well, he’s not off to a good start.’ Well, if anybody watched those games with our team playing in front of him, you can’t blame him on a lot of it.

“But even (Thursday), we gave up a goal in the first 50 seconds of the game. He was calm. He relaxed. No big deal, I got this. And he made some saves after that were important.”

It didn’t take long for Gibson to embrace wearing the famed red and white of the Winged Wheel. He felt comfortable in those colors right away. But his first game in front of a devoted Original Six fan base at Little Caesars Arena was a disaster — a 5-1 drubbing by Montreal and an early exit in the second period following five goals allowed on 13 shots.

Advanced age and years of stacking highs and lows have allowed him to have a centered perspective. He looks back on that first impression as “unfortunate timing,” being that it was on opening night. It’s no different than a quarterback dealing with a game where he’s thrown four interceptions. Toss out that night and he’s got a .902 save percentage, allowing one or two goals in three of his other five games.

“I can sit here and tell you that there’s probably going to be another one at some point throughout the year,” Gibson said. “I mean, that’s just the way it is. You play 82 games. That’s expected. But I think it’s all about how you bounce back and I kind of hold my hat on being mentally strong, mentally tough. And I like a good challenge.

“We’ve been playing pretty good here. Starting to get confidence and just kind of playing connected. It’s been good. It’s a big trip for us here. It was nice to start it off with a win, but still a lot of games left. One game at a time.”

The Red Wings’ central mission in 2025-26 is to end a nine-year playoff drought. They’ll need a good and healthy Gibson, whether he’s splitting time with Talbot or being their primary choice.

“I can’t say enough good things about him as a teammate,” Dylan Larkin said. “His demeanor is very old school. Opening night didn’t go (his way). We left him out to dry. We did not play well. And he was calm. He was quiet. He seemed a little pissed off about it and he responded.

“I think he’s a gamer. When he gets hot, it’s really good for us. “

As for Anaheim, it has hitched its wagon to Dostál and a five-year, $32.5 million contract cemented who’ll come out of the tunnel first on most nights. The Ducks, a team thought to be on the rise, are 5-3-1. They are beyond their franchise netminder, but Friday will be a time to recognize what Gibson did and endured.

Dostál was already looking forward to facing someone who “was a mentor from day one I was here.” He texted Gibson how much he loved his new white pads and figures that the night will be emotional for him as well as his old crease mate. He hopes there will be “wild applause” from the Ducks faithful.

“He’s been here for so long,” Dostál said. “He’s done such a great job, so many great things for this organization. I think he deserves nothing less than a lot of applause.”

Terry thought back to when Gibson and his wife, Alexa, took him and his then-girlfriend (now-wife), Dani, to dinners after he was called up to Anaheim. It’s selfless gestures like that over eight years together that he focuses on, as well as the times when they didn’t give what he thought was the best goalie in the NHL the support he deserved on the ice.

And the laconic Gibson, one who usually preferred to keep inside his innermost thoughts, doesn’t deny the bonds he formed. As laid-back as he can be, he enthusiastically supported sled hockey through the Gibson’s Goals initiative. Friends were made while residing in SoCal, even if he’s Pittsburgh through and through. Relationships were cultivated. Those he helped. Those who helped him. “I mean, there’s a laundry list of people,” he said.

Friday’s reunion will be one to remember, even if he might not show it.

“It’s got to mean a lot to him,” Larkin said. “I think when you put years into an organization, especially years that aren’t great, there’s good moments, but there’s some tough times. It’s hard. When you’re in it, you want to be the guy to help get that organization out of it.

“I think maybe he got to a point — I’m not going to put words (in his mouth) — but he wanted a fresh start. I think it’d be an emotional return. As a guy that’s pretty cool, calm and collected, I know he’ll be excited and I think it would be emotional because he put so much effort and cared about that organization for a long time.”