Another of the SHL’s top netminders has landed in the NHL.
Jonas Gunnarsson, an undrafted free agent who spent the past two seasons with the Malmo Redhawks, agreed to an entry-level deal with Nashville on Wednesday, the club announced.
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[Gunnarsson] played a league-high 44 games, ranking ninth among netminders in save percentage (.913) despite his team finishing 12th out of 14 teams, and in 2014-15, he ranked ninth in Swedish second division goals-against average (2.28), helping Malmo earn promotion to the SHL.
The Preds had pretty decent depth in goal prior to this signing -- Pekka Rinne, Carter Hutton, Marek Mazanec -- and have a good young prospect in Juuse Saros, who enjoyed a solid campaign in AHL Milwaukee.
Of course, Hutton is a pending UFA that needs a new deal, so one wonders if Nashville is ready to move on. Mazanec is a RFA, and also needs a new deal.
As mentioned above, the Preds are just the latest team to get in on Sweden’s glut of talented goalies. Last month Chicago signed Lars Johansson, the SHL’s reigning Goalie of the Year.
