Erik Gufstafsson relishing playoff run with Rangers after being benched last postseason

WASHINGTON — Erik Gustafsson is competing in the playoffs for the fifth time in his NHL career with his fifth different team. 

Going up against the team he started with last season, the Capitals, added a layer to the first-round series for him, but the Rangers defenseman is also getting another postseason opportunity after he primarily served as a healthy scratch for the team Washington traded him to, the Maple Leafs, last playoffs. 

“It was tough getting traded last year, when you had a good year in Washington and all that,” Gustafsson told The Post ahead of the Rangers’ series-clinching Game 4 victory against the Capitals on Sunday night. “It’s kind of the business and stuff like that, but it was tough coming to Toronto. They had a great D corps and [I] got hurt, too. I played a couple games [for Toronto], but I’ve played a lot of playoff games. 

“It’s fun to play here, too. It’s a great team we have here. Just taking all the experience that I have in the last couple years and trying to bring it in here.” 

The Swedish defenseman suffered an upper-body injury at the end of the 2022-23 regular season and ended up sitting out through the first five games of Toronto’s first-round matchup against the Lightning. 

Despite playing in the Maple Leafs’ series-clinching 2-1 overtime victory in Game 5, Gustafsson again was sidelined in three of the four games against the Panthers in Round 2.

He scored in Game 3, a 3-2 loss, but still found himself on the outs the following two contests as Toronto lost in five. 

Gustafsson has largely been a regular for the Rangers this season, after he signed a bargain one-year deal at $825,000 last summer.

Appearing in 76 of 82 games, the 32-year-old has been a steady presence on the blue line who has brought an offensive mindset.