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WILMINGTON, Mass. -- The Boston Bruins have invited veteran goaltender Jonas Gustavsson to training camp on a PTO basis, general manager Don Sweeney confirmed Thursday.

While there's no other PTOs right now, Sweeney admitted there could be more if certain events unfold.

"I've talked to different players and representatives over the last couple of weeks," Sweeney said. "We have a healthy number of guys coming in, so that dictates it just a little bit. There could be injuries and such or there could be non-graduation, as we call it, from rookie camp to main camp that may affect that. I've been in touch with several players."

Gustavsson will compete for the backup goalie job at the NHL level, a position that opened when Nicklas Svedberg left in the summer as a free agent to sign in the KHL.

There are three younger players also competing for the role: Malcolm Subban, Jeremy Smith and Zane McIntyre. Only Subban has NHL experience (just one game, though).

Gustavsson spent the last three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, primarily as a backup to Jimmy Howard. He played in seven games in 2014-15 and tallied a .911 save percentage with 2.56 GAA.

It's better to have a veteran backup than an unproven young guy, especially after No. 1 netminder Tuukka Rask had to play a career-high 70 games last season. That said, it's hard to imagine one of these three young goalies not being able to fulfill the backup role better than Gustavsson.

Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images