Having spent this season as a backup goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins, goalie Ty Conklin will now experience what it’s like to be a backup for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

The Detroit Red Wings today signed Conklin to a one-year, $750K contract, which in turn suggests Jimmy Howard, who was expected to be Chris Osgood’s backup, could be headed back to the farm for another season, and don’t be surprised if his name pops up in trade rumors in the coming weeks and months.

Conklin’s career was believed dead in the water at the start of last season, as he began last season with the Penguins minor league affiliate but when Marc-Andre Fleury was sidelined with an ankle injury Conklin stepped into the breach and played very well, keeping the Penguins near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.  

Two unrestricted free agent goaltenders coming off seasons to forget found new homes on July 19th.

Former Montreal Canadiens netminder David Aebischer was signed to a one-year contract by the Phoenix Coyotes, and former Buffalo Sabres goalie Ty Conklin was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins to a one-year, $500K contract.

Aebischer, once considered the heir apparent to Patrick Roy in Colorado, was dealt in March 2006 to the Canadiens for Jose Theodore. He began last season battling with Cristobal Huet for the starter's role with the Habs but wound up as the backup until mid-season, when Huet was injured and he was given the opportunity to step into the starter's role.

Unfortunately for Aebischer, he was unable to regain his early season form and was so shaky that in desperation the Canadiens switched to call-up Jaroslav Halak, whose strong performance once again relegated "Abby" to riding the pine for the rest of the season.

Aebischer will get the opportunity to prove himself a capable starter with the Coyotes, where he'll jostle for the role with Mikael Tellqvist. This could be his last best opportunity to regain the form that made him the starting goaltender for the Avs for two seasons following Roy's retirement.

Conklin was once projected as the future starting goaltender for the Edmonton Oilers following a strong rookie season in 2003-04, but he struggled throughout the 2005-06 season, losing the starter's role to Dwayne Roloson.  When Roloson was injured in the opening game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, a shaky Conklin allowed the game winning goal following a mix-up behind his net.

He never seemed to recover from that and spent last season split between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres, playing in only 16 games with a 3-5-2 record, a 3.34 goals-against average and an .879 save percentage.

This signing seemed a bit odd by the Penguins as they'd signed Dany Sabourin earlier this month to a two-year contract, but evidently they've decided it worthwhile to add more goaltending depth.

Conklin will likely have to battle with Sabourin in training camp and pre-season to earn the right to back up starter Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Buffalo Sabres wasted little time landing a replacement for the recently-traded Martin Biron, acquiring Ty Conklin from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a fifth round pick.

Bit of a risky pickup for the Sabres, as Conklin really struggled over the past two seasons, which included coughing up a fluky game-winning goal in Game One of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

Conklin won’t see much playing time on the Sabres as they’ll go with Ryan Miller the rest of the way. This move was likely done more as an affordable fit for cap space, as the Sabres may still be looking to bolster their depth elsewhere on the roster.

If Miller gets injured in the playoffs, however, Sabres fans will be holding their breaths.