The Wings have made their first move of the offseason, officially signing Jonas Gustavsson to a one year contract extension. Per Khan, the 29 year old Swedish goaltender will earn a slight raise from the $1.5M he made last year, as his new deal will pay him $1.85M.
Jonas Gustavsson officially signed his one-year contract with Wings today. Slight bump from $1.5 million to $1.85 million.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) June 25, 2014
Last year Gustavsson had a strong start to the season while Jimmy Howard struggled, but injuries limited him to only 27 games. He ended the year with a .907 SV% and 2.63 GAA while going 16-5-4. In the playoffs, he was forced into action when Howard got hurt, and he went 0-2 with a 2.71 GAA and .917 SV% in Games 4 and 5 against the Bruins.
Ultimately this is a bridge deal/stopgap designed to allow Petr Mrazek to get another year under his belt in Grand Rapids so he can play more and fine tune his game. If Gustavsson can somehow survive the season without getting injured, then hopefully he can spell Howard and provide the Wings with some decent goaltending. If he does end up getting hurt, then Mrazek can assume his rightful spot on the Wings and the term/dollars don’t hurt Detroit long-term.
