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BAUHAUS builds Swedish ice hockey
For the past three seasons, Jonas Gustavsson has protected Linköping’s goal since returning home from games in North America, where he ended his tenure with games for the Edmonton Oilers.
Now it’s clear that Linköping will have to do without the 35-year-old cage keeper.
On Friday, the club announced that Gustavsson has chosen to take an indefinite break from ice hockey.
– We mean personal reasons and we respect Jonas’s decision. I found out last night. It wasn’t long ago, general manager Niklas Persson tells HockeyNews.se.
With eight days to go until SHL’s premiere against Rögle, the LHC intends to recruit a replacement for the NHL-qualified Gustavsson.
– There are interesting names, it definitely has them. As you understand, it hasn’t been that long, but it was pretty quick to start exploring the market and seeing what’s available and what solutions you can do, says Niklas Persson.
Since the LHC general manager doesn’t know how long Jonas Gustavsson will be out of SHL hockey, he has to find different solutions. Goalkeeper Niklas Lundström is currently under contract for next season.
One possibility is to hire a goalkeeper on a short-term contract to cover Gustavsson’s absence.
– Yes, I have it to work. It is not the optimal solution and it may not be our ambition, but we must do our best for the club and for the team to be able to perform the best hockey possible, so it is quite possible that it is such a solution to begin with. But we are not there yet. We’ll see where we end up, but that’s not impossible, says Niklas Persson.
Have you called multiple doormen?
– Hehe, yes, there are some pieces that I can say. It is a situation in which before a season you have chosen an analysis of what you need for new acquisitions or extensions or whatever, then you have good names that you talk about. In this case, it is not the same and you really have to look at who is without a contract. Are there any that sit on other options?
Persson continues:
– In some cases, you are in full control and you know exactly who they are and how they play and both positive and negative things. In some cases, you know who they are, but you may not have full control over how they look and what they are to people.
Niklas Lundström, 27, played last season for Vita Hästen at Hockeyallsvenskan and for Dukla Jihlava in the Czech second league. The last time he was in the SHL was in 2013/2014 when he played two games with the AIK.
– It was great. It is exactly where we think it would be. It will be exciting to follow him and he has done well both in training and in games. It’s clear that he ends up in a different situation right now and I think that triggers him and sees that this is a goddamn opportunity to really show himself, says Niklas Persson.
Former LHC goalkeeper Marcus Högberg has one year left on his NHL contract with Ottawa, where he played 24 NHL games last season. Even if there is uncertainty before the next NHL season, it is not possible to include Högberg in a short-term contract.
“We could borrow it throughout the season if Ottawa agrees, but I’m very hesitant about it,” Niklas Persson tells HockeyNews.se.
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