Brian Gibbons (ice hockey, born 1988)

Brian Robert Gibbons (born February 26, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played under contract with ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has formerly played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes.

Brian Gibbons
Gibbons with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2014
Born (1988-02-26) February 26, 1988 (age 36)
Braintree, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Left
team
Former teams
Free agent
Pittsburgh Penguins
Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
Anaheim Ducks
Ottawa Senators
Carolina Hurricanes
Lausanne HC
Linköping HC
ERC Ingolstadt
National team  United States
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2011–present

Playing career

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Prior to turning professional, Gibbons attended the Boston College where he played four seasons with the Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey team which competes in NCAA's Division I in the Hockey East conference.

On April 4, 2011 Gibbons signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins worth $1.8 million at the NHL level.[1]

 
Gibbons in December 2013.

In the 2013–14 season, Gibbons received his first recall by Pittsburgh and scored his first NHL goal in his debut game on his first shot on November 18, 2013, against Viktor Fasth of the Anaheim Ducks.[2] He scored his first power play goal on February 3, 2014, off a deflection from Olli Määttä against Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators.[3]

On July 4, 2014, Gibbons left the Penguins organization as a free agent and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.[4]

On July 1, 2015, Gibbons signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Rangers.[5] He was assigned by the Rangers to AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, for the duration of the 2015–16 season, compiling 23 points in 63 games.

Unable to feature with the Rangers, Gibbons left as a free agent in the off-season. Unable to secure an NHL contract, he signed a Professional Try-out deal to attend training camp with the New Jersey Devils on September 15, 2016.[6] He later signed a one-year AHL deal with affiliate, the Albany Devils on October 4, 2016.

On July 1, 2017, Gibbons after a successful tenure in the AHL, finally was offered and agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the New Jersey Devils for the following 2017–18 season.[7] In the 2017–18 season, Gibbons made a return to the NHL in surprisingly making the Devils opening night roster. In using his speed and high intensity, Gibbons made an impression with the Devils, scoring career highs with 12 goals, 14 assists and 26 points in 59 games.

On July 2, 2018, Gibbons was signed to a one-year, $1 million contract by the Anaheim Ducks.[8] In the 2018–19 season, he recorded two goals and five points in 44 games for Ducks before he was placed on waivers on February 15, 2019.[9] Unable to replicate his previous offensive totals Gibbons was then assigned to AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, however, before reporting he was traded by the Ducks at the trade deadline to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Patrick Sieloff on February 25, 2019.[10] Gibbons made an instant impact with the cellar-dwelling Senators, recording 6 goals and 14 points in 20 games to end the regular season.

On July 4, 2019, Gibbons signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way $725,000 contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.[11] Gibbons split the 2019–20 season, between the Hurricanes and AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, going scoreless in 15 games in the NHL.

Left off the Hurricanes Return to Play roster, Gibbons as a free agent joined Swiss club, Lausanne HC of the National League (NL), on a one-year deal on July 28, 2020.[12]

Limited to just 17 games through his solitary season in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with Linköping HC in 2021–22, Gibbons lefts as a free agent and continued his European career by signing a one-year deal with German outfit, ERC Ingolstadt of the DEL, on August 1, 2022.[13]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Boston College HE 43 13 22 35 32
2008–09 Boston College HE 36 9 19 28 52
2009–10 Boston College HE 42 16 34 50 78
2010–11 Boston College HE 39 18 33 51 79
2011–12 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 70 11 19 30 26 9 0 0 0 8
2012–13 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 70 8 22 30 34 15 3 5 8 22
2013–14 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 28 11 19 30 43 10 1 2 3 18
2013–14 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 41 5 12 17 6 8 2 1 3 2
2014–15 Springfield Falcons AHL 26 3 8 11 14
2014–15 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 25 0 5 5 8
2015–16 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 63 6 17 23 30
2016–17 Albany Devils AHL 72 16 20 36 38 4 1 0 1 2
2017–18 New Jersey Devils NHL 59 12 14 26 20 2 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Anaheim Ducks NHL 44 2 3 5 16
2018–19 Ottawa Senators NHL 20 6 8 14 4
2019–20 Charlotte Checkers AHL 26 4 14 18 40
2019–20 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 15 0 0 0 4
2020–21 Lausanne HC NL 46 11 22 33 58 6 0 2 2 4
2021–22 Linköping HC SHL 17 0 1 1 8
2022–23 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 11 2 2 4 8
NHL totals 204 25 42 67 58 10 2 1 3 2
Medal record
Representing   United States
Ice hockey
World Championships
  2018 Denmark

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 United States WC   7 0 0 0 2
Senior totals 7 0 0 0 2

Awards and honors

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Award Year
College
All-Hockey East First Team 2009–10 [14]
All-Hockey East Second Team 2010–11
Hockey East All-Tournament Team 2011 [15]

References

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  1. ^ "Penguins Sign Forward Brian Gibbons – Pittsburgh Penguins – News". Pittsburgh Penguins. April 4, 2011.
  2. ^ "Anaheim Ducks at Pittsburgh Penguins". National Hockey League. November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  3. ^ "Penguins beat Senators, 2–1, in overtime". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  4. ^ "Blue Jackets sign center Brian Gibbons to one-year deal". Columbus Blue Jackets. July 4, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  5. ^ "Rangers agree to terms with Brian Gibbons". New York Rangers. July 1, 2015. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  6. ^ New Jersey Devils (September 15, 2016). "Gibbons agree to PTO with Devils". Twitter. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  7. ^ "Devils sign forward Brian Gibbons to one-year, two-way contract". New Jersey Devils. July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  8. ^ "Ducks sign six in free agency". Anaheim Ducks. July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  9. ^ "Brian Gibbons clears waivers". prohockeyrumours.com. February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  10. ^ "Sens acquire Gibbons from Ducks". The Sports Network. February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "Canes sign Brian Gibbons to one-year, two-way deal". Carolina Hurricanes. July 4, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "Lausanne announces signing of Gibbons". swisshockeynews.ch. July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  13. ^ "Center Brian Gibbons completes ERC roster" (in German). ERC Ingolstadt. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  14. ^ "NCAA (Hockey East) First All-Star Teams". eliteprospects.com. May 15, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  15. ^ "2013–14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
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