Confirmed: The 23rd Red Wing: Ty Conklin

*UPDATED*
The rumors have been confirmed by the Detroit Red Wings, who have announced that they have, in fact, signed Ty Conklin to a one-year deal. Per team policy, no other contract details were released.

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About twelve hours after news of Chris Osgood’s retirement became official, rumors began swirling that the Detroit Red Wings have signed their backup goaltender for the 2011-12 season, and it’s the guy we’ve all expected to be Howard’s tandemmate: former Wing Ty Conklin.

If the speculation is correct, Conklin has been signed for one year at less than a million bucks, a great price for a suitable backup. We’ll await official word from the team and be sure to pass those details on as they become available. He made $750,000 in his first go-around in Detroit, but averaged $1.3M over the last two seasons in St. Louis.

This should be the last roster move, barring a trade or other unforeseen signing. If the numbers are right, the total payroll comes in around $58,200,000 — a full six million below the cap, allowing for any necessary movement between the parent club and the Griffins, or a trade deadline deal to improve the ranks.

Conklin, 35, was a 25-game winner in 2008-09 serving as Chris Osgood’s backup, and had a stellar 2.51 GAA. In exactly 200 NHL games, he has a respectable stat line of 91 wins, 61 losses, 4 ties, 16 overtime losses, 16 shutouts, 2.56 GAA, and .908 save percentage. In addition to the Blues and Wings, he’s suited up for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Edmonton Oilers.

Ty Conklin and the Wings’ third goaltender (Joey MacDonald) have a combined 26 minutes of playoff experience, so it’s pretty clear that they’ve comfortable with Jimmy Howard to carry the load.

Your 2011-12 Detroit Red Wings are as follows (ignore line combinations):

40 Henrik Zetterberg — 13 Pavel Datsyuk — 93 Johan Franzen
44 Todd Bertuzzi — 51 Valtteri Filppula — 96 Tomas Holmstrom
11 Dan Cleary — 43 Darren Helm — 26 Jiri Hudler
17 Patrick Eaves — 8 Justin Abdelkader — 20 Drew Miller
(39 Jan Mursak — 48? Cory Emmerton)

5 Nicklas Lidstrom — 55 Niklas Kronwall
23 Brad Stuart — 52 Jonathan Ericsson
22/64 Mike Commodore — 3? Ian White
(4 Jakub Kindl)

35 Jimmy Howard
29 Ty Conklin

Photo Credit: Dilip Vishwanat, Getty Images