Erik Gustafsson signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
The 29-year-old defenseman had been in training camp with the New York Islanders on a professional tryout (PTO) but was released from that contract Sunday.
Gustafsson scored 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 29 games with the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens last season, and three points (one goal, two assists) in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help Montreal reach the Cup Final, when it lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.
The Blackhawks will start the season without defensemen Wyatt Kalynuk and Caleb Jones. Kalynuk is expected to be out 2-4 weeks with a sprained right ankle and Jones will be out approximately six weeks with a left wrist strain. Each player was injured last week.
Chicago opens the season at the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; TNT).
Gustafsson made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks during the 2015-16 season and played his first four NHL seasons with Chicago. In 2018-19 he tied for third among NHL defensemen with 17 goals and was sixth with 60 points.
Selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round (No. 93) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Gustafsson has scored 131 points (29 goals, 102 assists) in 250 regular-season games with the Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, Flyers and Canadiens, and eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 31 playoff games.
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