Anders Lindbäck

Junior

Lindbäck began his career with the Junior 18 Brynäs IF team in 2003 and played his first elite game in 2006. He was loaned out to the Uppsala-based team Almtuna IS of HockeyAllsvenskan for the duration of the 2007–08 season.

Professional

Lindbäck was drafted in the seventh round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, 207th overall, by the Nashville Predators.

On March 25, 2009 Lindbäck signed a contract with Timrå IK with the intent to play for the team during the 2009–10 season.

For the 2010–11 season, Lindbäck made the move to North America, and made his NHL debut on October 9 in relief of Pekka Rinne for the Nashville Predators against the Anaheim Ducks at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. He recorded his first NHL shutout on December 11 against the Florida Panthers, then, just two days later on December 13, Lindbäck recorded his second career shutout against the New York Islanders in back-to-back games.

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Lindbäck played for Ilves in the Finnish Liiga. He posted a .930 save percentage and 2.33 goals against average in 12 games.

On June 15, 2012, Lindbäck was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with Kyle Wilson and a seventh-round draft pick, for Sébastien Caron, two second-round draft picks in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and a third-round draft pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

After two disappointing seasons with the Lightning organization, Lindbäck was not tendered a new contract and was released as a free agent. On July 1, 2014, he was signed to a one-year contract with the Dallas Stars.

Lindbäck played only 10 games in Dallas before being traded, along with a conditional third-round pick, to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for fellow Swedish goaltender Jhonas Enroth. Lindbäck made his debut for the Sabres in a start on March 3, 2015, against his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With the Sabres looking in a different direction for their goaltending options, Lindbäck signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Arizona Coyotes on July 1, 2015. After a third successive subpar season in the NHL with the Coyotes, Lindback remained a free agent over the following summer.

On September 16, 2016, it was announced that Lindbäck was invited to Professional Tryout contract with the New Jersey Devils. Following his participation in the Devils training camp, Lindback was released from his try-out. On October 25, 2016, Lindbäck agreed to a try-out with the Ontario Reign of the AHL, in sight of the backup role with affiliate, the Los Angeles Kings. He appeared in 4 games with the Reign, failing to impress before he was released on November 19, 2016.

Having returned to his native Sweden, Lindbäck agreed to a return to the top-flight SHL, signing a deal for the remainder of the season with Rögle BK on December 14, 2016.

International

Anders currently holds the record for shortest time played by any participant in the Ice Hockey World Championships. He played one second in Sweden's win against Germany in the 2010 bronze medal game.

Personal life

Lindbäck was diagnosed with Adult-onset Still's disease months before he entered the 2008 NHL Draft, which made him get drafted so late despite his excellence. He is close friends with former teammate and fellow Swede Patric Hörnqvist.

Growing up in Gävle, Lindbäck has been a friend of Jacob Markström since childhood, and they both played for Brynäs IF during the 2008–09 season. As a result of Lindbäck's trade to Tampa Bay, they were playing for division rivals (Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers) between 2012 and 2014 until Markström's trade to the Vancouver Canucks.