Career

Gustafsson was selected in the 1st round, 21st overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft. Gustafsson was ranked fifth among European skaters by the National Hockey League"s Central Scouting Service. After being drafted by the Capitals in 2008, Gustafsson played the 2008-2009 season with Bofors IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan.

He then signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Capitals on May 15, 2009.

The Capitals assigned him to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, during the 2009-2010 preseason, and on October 15, 2009, they loaned him to Borås The Human Context for the remainder of the season in order to get him more playing time than was feasible in Hershey. Gustafsson returned to North America for the 2010 season, but did not make the Capitals team or the Bears team

After spending training camp in Washington and Hershey, he was assigned to the South Carolina Stingrays, the ECHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals on October 9, 2010. On October 18, 2010, after playing one game with the Stingrays, Gustafsson informed the Capitals that he no longer wished to continue his career in North America and returned to Sweden.

The Capitals immediately suspended his contract.

Gustafsson is the son of former National Hockey League and former Swedish national team head coach Bengt-Åke Gustafsson.