Ty Conklin has spent the past two seasons in St. Louis.
DETROIT -- It hasn’t taken the Detroit Red Wings long to find a replacement for Chris Osgood.
The team has agreed to a one-year contract with veteran goaltender Ty Conklin. The deal, worth less than $1 million, could be announced as early as Wednesday.
Conklin, 35, will serve as Jimmy Howard’s backup. Conklin flourished in the same capacity with the Red Wings in 2008-09, going 25-11-2 with a 2.51 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.
Conklin played more than expected while backing up Osgood, who battled through consistency issues much of the regular season before excelling in the playoffs. He is not expected to play that much behind Howard, who is a workhorse.
The Red Wings did not re-sign Conklin in 2009 because Howard was out of minor league options and needed to make the jump to the NHL.
Conklin spent the past two seasons with the St. Louis Blues. He was good in 2009-10, going 10-10-2 while posting a 2.48 GAA and .921 save percentage. However, he slumped last season, going 8-8-4, with a 3.22 GAA and .881 save percentage.
The native of Anchorage, Alaska, has a career record of 91-61-4-16 (W-L-T-OTL), with a 2.64 GAA, .908 save percentage and 16 shutouts in parts of nine seasons with Edmonton, Columbus, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Detroit and St. Louis.