Red Wings outlook: Jonas Gustavsson.jpg

Staying healthy was a problem for Jonas Gustavsson during three seasons in Detroit.

(AP File Photo)

DETROIT - Jonas Gustavsson enjoyed his time in Detroit despite battling injuries for much of the last three seasons and he'd like to return to the Red Wings.

The emergence of Petr Mrazek has made that impossible.

Mrazek is the Red Wings' goaltender of the future - perhaps the very near future after his performance in the playoffs against Tampa Bay - and that has made Gustavsson expendable.

So while the Red Wings prepare for a training camp battle between Mrazek and Jimmy Howard to see who will be the No. 1 goalie next season, Gustavsson will be moving on via free agency.

"I haven't looked at the market yet," Gustavsson said when the Red Wings cleaned out their lockers after a seven-game loss to the Lightning. "You can't really look at it now because if I look now it's going to look like there's some openings on some teams and then there's some trades and those spots are filled and there's other spots somewhere else, so you never know.

"Hopefully my body's a little bit good to me and we'll see. Right now I don't really know much, probably won't know much in the near future either."

Gustavsson's body wasn't very good to him during three seasons in Detroit.

He battled groin problems throughout his first season in Detroit; he played well in 27 games during the 2013-14 campaign; and then was sidelined for 31/2 months last season after dislocating his shoulder Nov. 5 in New York.

When he finally returned in March, a mild concussion put Gustavsson back on the sidelines.

Add it all up and Gustavsson appeared in just 41 games for the Red Wings - seven in 2012-13 and seven more last season - after playing three seasons in Toronto.

He had a 21-10-6 record, 2.67 goals-against average, .904 save percentage and one shutout with the Red Wings.



"The one injury I had this year I can't really do anything about it but in one way I'm happy with my health this year even though it sounds funny because my groin has been feeling great from the start," said Gustavsson, 30. "I haven't felt anything in the practices or the game when I pushed hard on the ice.

"Health-wise I think I'm in better shape than ever but obviously that shoulder injury and then the concussion prevented me from showing it."

Although he doesn't know where he'll be playing next season, Gustavsson knows it won't be in Detroit and hopes to remain in the NHL rather than returning to his native Sweden.

In 107 career NHL games with the Red Wings and Maple Leafs, Gustavsson has a 60-55-21 record, 2.89 GAA, .901 save percentage and six shutouts.

His only two Stanley Cup playoff appearances came with the Red Wings in 2014, when Howard came down with the flu before Game 4 against the Boston Bruins.

"I think my game has been getting better and better even though I haven't played much," Gustavsson said. "It sounds funny but I feel health-wise I'm better, too, than I've been the last few years. My issues have been groins and hips but my groins and hips have been 100 percent because I changed some stuff in off-season and it really works so I'm going to keep doing that.

"The shoulder injury is just something you get and deal with and move along. That's why hopefully I can stay in this league and show I'm getting better. I feel I have lots left in the tank. I'm only 30 years old so hopefully I have another 10 years of good hockey in me."

Gustavsson credits Red Wings goalie coach Jim Bedard with helping him get through the past three seasons while preparing for the future.

"I feel like I'm taking steps in the right direction, how I want to play my game," Gustavsson said. "He has a lot to do with that. He always gives me advice and wants me to play the game I can play best, not some game that some computer came up with. So that's really important for me to develop my game and not play someone else's game.



"I'm a free agent now, I haven't really heard anything from here or anywhere else so I don't know much at this point. Obviously everyone knows we got two other goalies here, so we'll see what happens."

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