Erik Gustafsson (ice hockey, born 1992)

For the Swedish ice hockey defenceman born in 1988, see Erik Gustafsson (ice hockey, born 1988).

Erik Gustafsson
Gustafsson with Frölunda HC in 2013
Born (1992-03-14) 14 March 1992 (age 32)
Nynäshamn, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Detroit Red Wings
Djurgårdens IF
Frölunda HC
Chicago Blackhawks
Calgary Flames
Philadelphia Flyers
Montreal Canadiens
Washington Capitals
Toronto Maple Leafs
New York Rangers
National team  Sweden
NHL draft 93rd overall, 2012
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 2011–present

Erik Gustafsson (born 14 March 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers. Gustafsson was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round, 93rd overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Gustafsson began playing hockey in Nynäshamns IF,[1] before moving to Djurgårdens IF's youth organisation. Gustafsson represented team Stockholm in the 2008 TV-pucken, a national junior tournament, scoring four assists. He played the 2008–09 season with Djurgården's under-18 team. In the following season, Gustafsson played for both the under-18 team and the J20-team. For the 2010–11 season, Gustafsson had a permanent place in the J20-team which won their division and ended up third in the playoffs. He extended his contract with Djurgårdens IF in May 2011 through to the 2013–14 season.[2]

Gustafsson was called to make his Elitserien (now the Swedish Hockey League (SHL)) debut in the 2011–12 season opener against HV71 on 15 September 2011, but did not receive any game-time. In his second game, against Brynäs IF on 27 September 2011, he made his on-ice debut, playing six minutes of the game.[3] Gustafsson scored his first Elitserien goal on 26 December 2011 against Fredrik Norrena of Linköpings HC.[4]

On 23 June 2012, at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Gustafsson was selected in the fourth round, 93rd overall by the Edmonton Oilers.

On 4 April 2013, with Djurgårdens IF demoted to the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, Gustafsson left the team to sign a contract with SHL club Frölunda HC.[5]

After two successful seasons establishing himself with Frölunda, and with his NHL playing rights not retained by Edmonton, on 30 April 2015, Gustafsson signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.[6]

Chicago Blackhawks

Gustafsson playing with the Chicago Blackhawks in January 2018

Gustafsson began the 2017–18 season with Chicago's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, but was recalled to the NHL on 9 January 2018.[7] He recorded his first NHL goal and added an assist in a 7–3 loss to the New York Islanders on 20 January.[8] On 6 March, Gustafsson signed a two-year contract extension with Chicago.[9]

Calgary Flames

In the 2019–20 season, Gustafsson entering the final season of his contract was unable to keep his scoring pace from the previous season. Adding 6 goals and 26 points in 59 games and with the Blackhawks out of contention for a playoff berth, Gustafsson was dealt by Chicago at the NHL trade deadline to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2020 third-round pick on 24 February 2020.[10]

Philadelphia Flyers

Un-signed from the Flames, Gustafsson left as a free agent at the conclusion of his contract and later agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on 12 October 2020.[11] In the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, he appeared in 24 games with the Flyers recording 1 goal and 10 points. Unable to cement a role within the Flyers blueline he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2022 on 12 April 2021.[12]

Return to Chicago

On 21 September 2021, Gustafsson was signed to a professional tryout contract (PTO) by the New York Islanders.[13] On 10 October, Gustafsson was released from his PTO and signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, marking his second stint with the team.[14][15]

Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs

At the conclusion of his contract with the Blackhawks, Gustafsson left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Washington Capitals on 13 July 2022.[16] In the 2022–NHL season, on 17 December, Gustafsson scored his first three goals of the season for his first career hat-trick in a win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.[17] With his ice-time elevated due to an injury to leading defenceman John Carlson, Gustafsson was rejuvenated with the Capitals, scoring 7 goals and 31 assist for 38 points in 61 regular season games. As a pending free agent and with the Capitals looking out of the playoffs, on 28 February, 2023, three days before the trade deadline, Gustafsson was traded to the Maple Leafs, along with a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, in exchange for defenceman Rasmus Sandin.[18]

New York Rangers

Gustafsson playing with the New York Rangers in 2023

As a free agent from the Maple Leafs, Gustafsson signed a one-year, $825,000 contract with the New York Rangers on 1 July 2023. During the 2023–24 season he recorded six goals and 25 assists in 76 games for the Rangers.[19]

Detroit Red Wings

On 1 July 2024, Gustafsson signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[20]

Personal life

Gustafsson's younger brother Glenn is also a professional hockey player, currently playing for Örebro HK in the SHL.[21]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Djurgårdens IF J18 22 2 7 9 10 — — — — —
2008–09 Djurgårdens IF J18 Allsv 11 0 1 1 12 2 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Djurgårdens IF J18 15 4 7 11 24 — — — — —
2009–10 Djurgårdens IF J18 Allsv 12 3 6 9 30 3 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Djurgårdens IF J20 24 0 8 8 26 — — — — —
2010–11 Djurgårdens IF J20 38 2 21 23 104 4 0 1 1 6
2011–12 Djurgårdens IF J20 21 3 11 14 14 — — — — —
2011–12 Djurgårdens IF SEL 41 3 4 7 16 — — — — —
2012–13 Djurgårdens IF Allsv 49 7 16 23 52 6 1 0 1 30
2013–14 Frölunda HC SHL 50 2 18 20 16 — — — — —
2014–15 Frölunda HC SHL 55 4 25 29 22 12 1 2 3 31
2015–16 Rockford IceHogs AHL 27 3 8 11 38 — — — — —
2015–16 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 41 0 14 14 4 5 0 1 1 0
2016–17 Rockford IceHogs AHL 68 5 25 30 40 — — — — —
2017–18 Rockford IceHogs AHL 25 3 14 17 18 — — — — —
2017–18 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 35 5 11 16 6 — — — — —
2018–19 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 79 17 43 60 34 — — — — —
2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 59 6 20 26 25 — — — — —
2019–20 Calgary Flames NHL 7 0 3 3 2 10 0 4 4 2
2020–21 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 24 1 9 10 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 0 2 2 0 16 1 2 3 0
2021–22 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 59 3 15 18 14 — — — — —
2022–23 Washington Capitals NHL 61 7 31 38 21 — — — — —
2022–23 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 9 0 4 4 2 2 1 0 1 0
2023–24 New York Rangers NHL 76 6 25 31 35 16 0 3 3 8
SHL totals 146 9 47 56 54 12 1 2 3 31
NHL totals 455 45 177 222 143 49 2 10 12 10
Medal record
Representing Sweden Sweden
Ice hockey
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Denmark

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2016 Sweden WC 6th 8 0 2 2 0
2018 Sweden WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 0 1 1 2
2019 Sweden WC 5th 8 2 2 4 2
2022 Sweden WC 6th 8 0 7 7 4
Senior totals 30 2 12 14 8

References

  1. ^ "Erik Gustafsson" (PDF). Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Juniortrio förlänger med DIF". Djurgårdens IF Hockey (in Swedish). 24 May 2011. Archived from the original on 21 September 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Djurgårdens IF - Brynäs IF - Statistik". hockeyligan.se (in Swedish). Svenska Hockeyligan. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Djurgården vann streckmatchen". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 26 December 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  5. ^ "Alexander Wennberg and Erik Gustafsson to Frolunda" (in Swedish). Frölunda HC. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Blackhawks agree to terms with Gustafsson". Chicago Blackhawks. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  7. ^ Skrbina, Paul (20 January 2018). "Erik Gustafsson hopes patience pays off with Blackhawks". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. ^ The Canadian Press (21 January 2018). "Pulock helps Islanders rout slumping Blackhawks". TSN.ca. Chicago. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Blackhawks agree to terms with Gustafsson and Sikura". Chicago Blackhawks. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Flames acquire pair of defencemen". Calgary Flames. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Flyers sign D Erik Gustafsson". Philadelphia Flyers. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Canadiens acquire Erik Gustafsson". Montreal Canadiens. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  13. ^ Wright, Cory (21 September 2021). "Five Takeaways: Lou Lamoriello's Pre-Training Camp Press Conference". NHL.com. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  14. ^ "RELEASE: Blackhawks Sign Erik Gustafsson to One-Year Deal". NHL.com. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Blackhawks to sign D Gustafsson after Isles PTO release". TSN.ca. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Capitals sign Erik Gustafsson". Washington Capitals. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Gustafsson's unlikely hat trick leads Caps". NBC Sports. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Capitals acquire Rasmus Sandin from Toronto Maple Leafs". Washington Capitals. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  19. ^ "Rangers agree to terms with Erik Gustafsson". New York Rangers. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  20. ^ Roth, Thomas (1 July 2024). "Red Wings sign defenseman Erik Gustafsson to two-year contract". NHL.com. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Glenn Gustafsson". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 20 November 2018.