The Detroit Red Wings have signed goaltender Magnus Hellberg to a one-year deal.
The Detroit Red Wings are adding some depth in net.
The Red Wings made a move to beef up their crease on Wednesday, signing goaltender Magnus Hellberg to a one-year deal.
The financial details of the contract have yet to be released, and the Red Wings have not clarified whether Hellberg will play for the team this season.
The signing is an interesting one for a Red Wings team looking to take the next step in its multi-year rebuild. Hellberg was considered the top Europen goaltender on the free-agent market, coming off a four-year stretch in the KHL from 2017-2021 in which he never posted a save percentage below .926, and topped out at a ridiculous .940 in 2018-19.
Hellberg's numbers this past season weren't quite as impressive as those previous years, with the 31-year-old posting a .917 save percentage in 37 games with Sochi HC, but are still notable nonetheless.
A former second-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2011, Hellberg has made just four NHL appearances in his career, three of which came in relief. But Hellberg's time outside the NHL has produced nothing but success, with Hellberg representing Sweden at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing back in February and posting a .933 save percentage in two appearances, along with leading his home country to gold at the 2018 IIHF World Championships with a 3-0-0 record.
The Red Wings, meanwhile, boast a team save percentage of .886 in 2021-22 and clearly need some help at the position. Hellberg is largely untested at the NHL level, and is on the wrong side of 30. But his results from across the pond and on the international stage speak for themselves.
It's a low-risk, high-reward signing for GM Steve Yzerman in the hopes of stabilizing his team's most important position.