The Pittsburgh Penguins need a goaltender, but cannot trade away one of their top wingers.

Whoever becomes the new general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins will have plenty of work to do in their first summer in charge. With Tristan Jarry's contract expiring this summer, the Penguins' new management will have an opportunity to pivot at the position immediately if they desire.

A name that has always come up whenever the Penguins seem to be in the market for a goaltender is John Gibson. Gibson, a Pittsburgh native, has played his entire career with the Anaheim Ducks and has been their starting goalie since the 2016-17 season.

Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is among those interested in seeing Gibson in a Penguins uniform. He recently stated in a piece that he would approve of the move "even if it means trading Jake Guentzel or Bryan Rust." That's where you lose me.

Gibson has been a workhorse for the Ducks for several years, even winning the Jennings Trophy in 2015-16 when he split time with Frederik Anderson in Anaheim. However, the Penguins are not just a goalie away from being a Stanley Cup contender, and Gibson hasn't proven to be worth that type of return.

In his last four seasons, Gibson has played in 195 games and has a .902 save percentage while saving -29.8 goals above expected. Meanwhile, Jarry has played in 177 games and has a .915 save percentage with 40.6 goals saved above expected.

While the Ducks' defense has been among the bottom five in the league the past few seasons, the Penguins' defense wasn't stout this season either. Combine that with Gibson's $6.4 million cap hit over the next four seasons, and Gibson's upside over Jarry suddenly vanishes, especially if you're losing a top-six winger to acquire him.

Guentzel is a proven 30-goal scorer in the NHL, and while Rust is coming off a tough year, he still scored 20 goals while finishing with his lowest shooting percentage (9.5%) since 2015-16.

The Penguins need to address their goaltending situation, but trading away one of the strongest players on an incomplete team is not the best way to build for next season or further down the line.

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