Capitals sign Mitch Gibson to two-year contract

An experienced netminder is back on an NHL team’s payroll.

On Tuesday, Washington Capitals general manager Craig Patrick announced that the team has signed goaltender Mitch Gibson to a two-year, two-way contract. The deal starts immediately and carries through the 2026-27 season.

The Capitals will be placing Gibson on waivers in the afternoon for the purpose of loaning him to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears.

Gibson has been part of the Capitals’ organization since the team took him in the fourth round, 124th overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft. He turned pro near the end of the 2022-23 season after a solid career with Harvard University.

While he has been called up to Washington a couple of times, he has never played in an NHL game. Instead, he has spent all of his professional career in the minors, mostly with the South Carolina Stingrays, the Caps’ ECHL affiliate. He was on a one-year, two-way contract during the 2024-25 season, but didn’t receive a qualifying offer. Instead, Gibson stayed within the organization, signing a minor-league contract with the Bears.

The 26-year-old has been spending a good chunk of the season in Hershey. In 12 games, he has posted a 6-4-3 record, with a 2.48 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and one shutout. He’s also played 13 games with the Stingrays, going 8-5-0 with a 2.32 GAA, a .917 SV% and one shutout.

Gibson has appeared in 15 games with the Bears, registering a 9-4-3 record with a 2.37 GAA and a .919 SV%. In 69 regular-season games with South Carolina, he is 42-20-3, with a 2.36 GAA, a .909 SV% and four shutouts. He helped the Stingrays win the Brabham Cup as the ECHL’s best team during the regular season.