Swedish goaltender Anders Lindbäck, 36, has signed a contract to play the remainder of the current season with Färjestad BK, the SHL team announced on Wednesday.
The veteran netminder will slot third in Färjestad’s goaltending depth chart behind Canadian Maxime Lagacé and 20-year-old Italian Damian Clara, who is an Anaheim Ducks prospect.
“We think that both of our goaltenders have played significantly better and are on an upward trend during the latter part of the season, so this is also a signal to both of them that we continue to believe in them,” said Färjestad GM Rickard Wallin. “But to strengthen our overall situation in goal, we feel that we need to have one more piece, both to balance our practises and to be less susceptible to injury, in what will hopefully be a long playoff run.
“Anders is basically a very good goalie with a lot of experience and he is very excited to get into that role, which is a prerequisite.”
Lindbäck and Clara were teammates with Brynäs last year when the team was in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. Brynäs was the club Lindbäck had grown up and become a full-time pro with but, in January 2024, league-leading Brynäs abruptly released him without explanation, other than to say, “This decision has been made based on what we consider best for the club,” which led to many unsubstantiated rumors.
“We are of course aware of the situation that Anders went through when he had to leave Brynäs,” said Wallin. “But after investigating the matter and talking to Anders, we think it was exaggerated and everyone deserves a second chance. We are happy to be able to give Anders such a chance and that he is joining Färjestad to strengthen our goaltending.”
Lindbäck signed six-week contract with the ICEHL’s Vienna Capitals in October, which carried the possibility of being extended, but after posting a 3.29 goals-against average and .895 save percentage in four games, the Austrian club chose not to do so.
Lindbäck, who hails from Gävle, Sweden, 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, followed by Brynäs and Vienna.
Interestingly, Färjestad currently sits second in the 14-team SHL, behind only Brynäs, which has done well with the duo of ex-NHLer Erik Källgren and Ludvig Persson in goal.
Other than Lagacé and Clara, Färjestad’s roster includes David Tomášek, Oskar Steen and Marián Studenič, as well as NHL prospects Stian Solberg (Anaheim), Joel Nyström (Carolina Hurricanes), Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers) and Lucas Forsell (Vancouver Canucks).
Färjestad will play in the Champions Hockey League final in Zurich, Switzerland against the host ZSC Lions on Feb. 18.