John Gibson is enveloped in trade rumors once again.

It would be difficult to decipher what year it is if you heard trade rumors about John Gibson. It feels like the goaltender has been rumored to be on the move for several years now, but nothing has ever materialized.

On the Nov. 22 episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said, “There was a point a couple years where I had heard that there was a Gibson deal being worked on between the Ducks and the Hurricanes. One team said yes and one team said no. At the very least, there was talk about it.”

Both teams have hired new general managers since then, with Bob Murray and Don Waddell no longer with the Ducks and Hurricanes, respectively.

In his latest edition of 32 Thoughts, Friedman writes, “Depending on who you believe, John Gibson’s been very close to a Carolina residency anywhere from zero-to-two times. It’s been an on-off courtship between the Ducks and Hurricanes over Gibson for years.”

On the Dec. 13 edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Friedman referenced the past Carolina-Anaheim talk regarding Gibson from the Nov. 22 episode and elaborated further: "I wrote that the way I did because a couple years ago––and it was a time when Don Waddell was the GM in Carolina and Bob Murray was the GM in Anaheim––I heard that (a trade) was getting close and the problem was that some people said it was true and some people said it was not true. And my brain was completely fried because there were people I trusted giving me both information. So, I knew somebody was not telling the truth and I couldn't figure out who it was so I just kind of stayed away from it, to be perfectly honest.

"I know there was a lot of noise last summer. Again, I just don't know where it ended up or if it was ever really close. John Gibson and Carolina are that couple that kind of flirts with each other, but do they ever get together? And how real is the flirting? But, there's something there. There's been something there in the past and obviously, it's never worked for both sides and so you just never know if it's going to come to fruition. I think Gibson would like to move. I think Anaheim would like to move him and I think depending on what everybody's willing to do here, Carolina would be a perfect landing spot for him."

Friedman isn’t the only one who’s connected Gibson to Carolina either. TSN and The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun mentioned on TSN’s Dec. 12 edition of Insider Trading that the Hurricanes have spoken to the Ducks about a potential Gibson deal:

“The bigger name: John Gibson. We’ve talked about him before and yes, the Hurricanes have talked to Anaheim about him. But the price is going to have to come down to trade for a goalie as he has a couple more years on his deal.”

A trade that sends Gibson to Carolina would likely require a goaltender to come back—whether it’s someone like Spencer Martin or Dustin Tokarski—to spell Lukáš Dostál as the backup.

Even though a couple of teams have already made moves to bolster their goaltending, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek will be in no hurry to move Gibson right now.