The Washington Capitals announced Tuesday morning that they signed goaltender Mitch Gibson to a two-year, two-way contract beginning this season. Gibson, a 2018 fourth-round draft pick, was previously playing this season under an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears.

Gibson has spent the 2025-26 campaign split between the Bears and the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. He will be placed on waivers later on Tuesday so that he can be re-assigned back to the Bears.

The 26-year-old backstop was set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

NEWS | The Washington Capitals have signed goaltender Mitch Gibson to a two-year, two-way contract beginning this season. The Capitals will place Gibson on waivers this afternoon for the purpose of loan to the Hershey Bears.#ALLCAPS | @Shift4 https://t.co/bQvgBmZP7w

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 17, 2026

Gibson has been great for both the Bears and Stingrays this season, particularly taking the bulk of the recent workload in Hershey during the NHL’s Olympic break. In 12 appearances for the Bears this season, Gibson is 6-4-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage, and one shutout.

In 13 ECHL games with the Stingrays, Gibson is 8-5-0 with a 2.32 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage, and one shutout. He has spent two full prior years in the Capitals’ organization after graduating from Harvard University in 2023.

Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:

Capitals Sign Goaltender Mitch Gibson
2018 fourth-round pick has 2.48 GAA and .918 save percentage in 12 games with Hershey this season

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have signed goaltender Mitch Gibson to a two-year, two-way contract beginning this season, senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick announced today. The Capitals will place Gibson on waivers this afternoon for the purpose of loan to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL).

The Capitals selected Gibson in the fourth round (124th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.

Gibson, 26, has a 6-4-2 record with a 2.48 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and one shutout in 12 games with Hershey this season. The 6’2”, 205-pound goaltender ranks seventh in the AHL in save percentage among goaltenders with at least 12 games played. Gibson has also appeared in 13 games with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL), posting an 8-5-0 record with a 2.32 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage and one shutout.

Last season, Gibson posted a 12-1-0 record with a 1.75 goals-against average, a .933 save percentage and one shutout in 14 games with South Carolina. Gibson ranked first in the ECHL in goals-against average and second in save percentage among goaltenders with at least 10 games played. In his lone AHL start of 2024-25, Gibson made 26 saves in a 6-2 win at Springfield on Oct. 26, 2024.

During the 2023-24 season, Gibson went 22-14-3 with a 2.56 goals-against average, a .899 save percentage and three shutouts in 42 games with South Carolina. Gibson’s 2.56 goals-against average ranked third among ECHL goaltenders with 40 or more games played. The Phoenixville, Pennsylvania native also appeared in two games with Hershey, posting a 2-0-0 record with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.

Gibson has a 9-4-2 record with a 2.37 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and one shutout in 15 career AHL games with Hershey. In 69 career ECHL games with South Carolina, Gibson has posted a record of 42-20-3 with a 2.36 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage and four shutouts.

Gibson played collegiately at Harvard University, where he posted a record of 47-25-6 with six shutouts, a 2.32 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage in 80 games over three seasons.