The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced another signing today as they’ve inked goaltender Filip Larsson to a two-year contract that will run through the 2025-26 season and carry an average annual value of $775K in the NHL. The 25-year-old Larsson spent last season with Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League where he posted a 19-9-0 record with a 1.93 goals against average and .920 save percentage.
Larsson’s two-year, two-way deal will breakdown as follows (via CapFriendly):
- 2024-25 – $775k / $400k
- 2025-26 – $775k / $500k
Larsson was selected in the sixth round (167th overall) by Detroit in the 2016 NHL entry draft and played a year in the NCAA at the University of Denver, posting a 13-6-3 record during the 2018-19 season.
He never played an NHL game while in the Red Wings organization but did play seven AHL games with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the 2019-20 season posting poor results with a 2-5 record along with an .843 save percentage and a 4.01 goals-against average.
After a stop in the ECHL, Larsson went home to Sweden where he spent the past four seasons split between the SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan. In the last three seasons, Larsson has posted some incredible numbers in Sweden, twice topping a .920 save percentage. It will be interesting to see if he can duplicate some of that success on North American ice.
Larsson’s signing creates more intrigue in the Penguins crease as it is possible there could be significant movement in Pittsburgh’s net after starter Tristan Jarry didn’t start in the Penguins’ final 13 games after backup Alex Nedeljkovic nearly led the team to an improbable spot in the NHL playoffs. Nedeljkovic is an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and many in Pittsburgh feel that he might have priced himself out of town with his strong finish to the season. The Penguins also have 22-year-old Joel Blomqvist who appears ready to challenge for an NHL spot next season as a backup. Larsson’s addition adds another option for the Penguins this summer as they look to get back into the playoffs next year.
Nice, I love free players.
If we can’t keep Ned, letting Larsson and Blomqvist compete for the backup with the other guy guy starting in WBS with a Magnus Hellberg type veteran is a solid and cheap Plan B.