Red Wings Sign Goaltender Gustavsson

The Detroit Red Wings made their first move of the 2012 NHL free agency season on Sunday, signing Swedish goaltender Jonas Gustavsson to a two-year deal.

The contract is reportedly worth $3 million for a cap hit of $1.5 million.

Gustavsson is expected to challenge Joey MacDonald for the backup role in Detroit.

Coming off a season in which he played 42 games and went 17-17-4 with a 2.92 GAA and .902 save percentage for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Gustavsson’s right were traded to the Winnipeg Jets on June 23 as a backup plan in case the Jets were unable to sign Ondrej Pavelec.

Gustavsson has played his entire career with the Maple Leafs after signing with them in 2009.  He is 39-45-15 overall with a 2.98 GAA and .900 save percentage.