Ex-NHL Goalie Signs Short-Term In Austria
Ex-NHL Goalie Signs Short-Term In AustriaSwedish goaltender Anders Lindbäck, 36, has signed a six-week contract with the Vienna Capitals, the ICEHL club announced on Saturday.
“I’m really happy about the opportunity I’ve been given in Vienna,” said Lindbäck. “I’ve kept myself fit on the ice and have been waiting for a new chance. When the opportunity to come to Vienna arose, I didn’t hesitate.”
Lindbäck, who hails from Gävle, Sweden, came up through the ranks of the local Brynäs club and became a full-time SHL player in 2008. He spent most of the years from 2010 to 2018 in North America and played 130 NHL games for the Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars and Arizona Coyotes. He also appeared in four playoff games in 2014 for the Lightning, who were swept by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round.
Since returning to Europe, he’s played in Switzerland, Russia and Finland, and spent the last two seasons back with Brynäs – last season he appeared in 15 HockeyAllsvenskan games but played his last game in late December before going down with an injury. As a result, 18-year-old Italian goalie Damian Clara inherited the starting job and backstopped the team to the league title and promotion to the SHL.
Now healthy after nine full months off, Lindbäck is anxious to get back into action.
“I think I can help the organization with my experience,” the 6-foot-6 Lindbäck said. “I’m a tall goalie who can still move well, even at 36 years of age. With my height, I also automatically cover a large part of the net.”
Lindbäck only signed with the Capitals through to the November break, in which all European leagues pause so that players can represent their national teams in short tournaments. The Austrian-based team was in the market for a goalie on a short-term basis after an injury to American goalie Tyler Parks, who will be out for a few weeks with an upper-body injury.
“We explored various available options,” said Capitals sports director Christian Dolezal. “Anders is the right choice for us and I’m happy that he will help us in Vienna until the November break. He has a lot of experience in North America and Europe, which is exactly what we were looking for. It was important to us to sign someone who has a wealth of experience and can handle the situation.”
The Capitals have won two of their first six ICEHL games this season and sit ninth in the 13-team multi-national league. The team’s roster includes Austrian national team defenseman Dominique Heinrich.
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