Capitals Sign Mitch Gibson To Two-Way Deal

The Capitals announced they’ve signed goaltender Mitch Gibson to a two-year, two-way contract that starts this season. He’ll be placed on waivers today for the purpose of returning him to AHL Hershey, where he’s spent a good portion of the season.

It’s the third straight contract Gibson has signed with the Caps, but it’s his first multi-year deal. The 26-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Washington in 2018 but didn’t sign until five years later after he’d wrapped up a four-year collegiate run with Harvard. He spent most of the last two seasons in the No. 5 spot on Washington’s depth chart, serving as the starter in ECHL South Carolina, before being non-tendered last summer.

While the Caps no longer wanted to use an NHL contract slot on Gibson, they still wanted to keep him in the organization. He agreed to a one-year AHL contract with Hershey in June, but started the year back on assignment to South Carolina. The Capitals have been dealing with injury troubles between the pipes as of late, though, with both Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson missing time before the Olympic break. That’s led to Gibson getting more AHL reps lately, with 12 appearances already a new career high.

The Pennsylvania native has impressed. His .918 SV% and 2.48 GAA outpace both of Washington’s NHL-contracted mainstays in Hershey, Garin Bjorklund and Clay Stevenson. With the former struggling to the tune of a .881 mark in the same amount of workload as Gibson, it’s fair to assume he’s worked his way up to fourth-string status behind Thompson, Lindgren, and Stevenson.

With Washington’s recent injury troubles, they were likely becoming uncomfortable with the prospect of only having two call-up options available if needed – especially if Stevenson needs to go through waivers at some point down the stretch for any reason. They still have three contract slots available after inking Gibson, so they’re not in a huge crunch in that regard.

It’s worth noting Bjorklund is a pending restricted free agent. Signing Gibson through next season could indicate they aren’t planning on qualifying Bjorklund.