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The battle for the job behind Boston Bruins superstar Tuukka Rask as the B’s backup for the 2015-16 season officially has its fourth participant, as veteran netminder Jonas Gustavsson will attend B’s training camp on a tryout basis according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Limited to just seven games for the Detroit Red Wings last season due to shoulder and concussion issues, the 30-year-old Gustavsson hit the free agent market with limited interest in part to those injury issues and a tame 3-3-1 mark, 2.56 goals against average, and .911 save percentage. Gustavsson, nicknamed Monster, was even chased from his final start of the season (which ironically came against the Bruins back on Mar. 8) after surrendering four goals on just 23 shots against.
In that undeniably small seven-game sample, Gustavsson was strong at even-strength, stopping all but seven of 115 shots against (a .939 save percentage). And in total, Gustavsson’s three-year tenure with the Wings included 21 wins and a .904 save percentage in 41 games (though, again, Gustavsson was stronger at even-strength play, posting a .915 save percentage over that stretch).
Gustavsson even appeared in two postseason games against the Bruins during his time in Detroit, stopping 66-of-72 shots (.917 save percentage) in two losses to the Presidents’ Trophy winning Bruins.
In Boston, Gustavsson will compete for the NHL backup job against Jeremy Smith, Malcolm Subban, and even true rookie Zane McIntyre.
Smith, signed to a one-year, $600,000 contract in July, has yet to appear in an NHL game in his career but comes to camp on the heels of a successful campaign in the American Hockey League in which he won 22 contests and posted a .933 save percentage in 39 games for the Providence Bruins.
Subban, the only other goalie with NHL experience, will come to camp looking to build off an impressive 2015 Calder Cup sample headline by a stellar .955 save percentage in two contests. And will see if Subban can forget about his showing in his last appearance on an NHL rink, which was an outright disaster, with the former first-round pick allowing three goals on just six shots to the St. Louis Blues.
And McIntyre, the true darkhorse for the backup job, leaves North Dakota after a stellar college career of 58 wins and a .926 save percentage in 92 games played. National glory eluded the Minnesota native, though, as the club fell in two straight Frozen Four appearances with McIntyre in net.
So, Gustavsson, in spite of his NHL experience, does have some considerable competition.
Overall, the 6-foot-2 Swede has appeared in 148 games at the NHL level, recording 60 wins and a .901 save percentage between Detroit (2012-15) and his first team, the Toronto Maple Leafs (2009-12).
Is that enough to push him into the mix as the favorite for the job as Claude Julien’s go-to choice for a backup? Yes and no. It’s clear that Julien did not trust Niklas Svedberg when he needed to, and that ultimately led to an insane workload for Rask. There has to be trust between the backup and Julien like there was when it was Chad Johnson or Anton Khudobin, and bringing a guy with actual NHL experience, albeit with limited success, could be preferred way it goes for Julien.
Truthfully, I could see Gustavsson becoming a fit in the Julien system, especially in a complementary role. This was a guy that wasn’t horrible for the Wings, and has always shown signs of being a solid NHL option if he’s healthy and if the team in front of him isn’t a straight-up nightmare.
But still, it’s Don Sweeney, not Claude Julien, calling the shots when it comes to contracts, so Gustavsson will have to actually perform in camp if he plans on donning the Black and Gold this season.
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com