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Marcus Johansson re-signs with Capitals on one-year deal

By Ian Oland

 18 Comments

July 13, 2022 8:10 pm

Marcus Johansson will be continuing his second stint in DC. Johansson signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract late on free agency day to keep him with the organization that originally drafted him in 2009.

The move gives the Capitals versatility as the Swede can skate at all three forward positions. Washington will be without Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson to start the season due to long-term injuries.

Johansson, 31, had six points (3g, 3a) in 18 games for the Capitals last season. Mojo was moved up and down Peter Laviolette’s lineups, but spent a majority of his time skating with Nicklas Backstrom on the second line (100:52 toi). Johansson posted an impressive a 53.6 5-on-5 shot-attempt percentage and a 55.7 5-on-5 expected goal percentage in total.

Per Peter’s season review:

He’s a fragile boy, yet he brings speed and puck mobility to the ice. He’s a poor finisher, yet he’s unafraid to play right up in the goal mouth. As the Capitals’ already limited speed seemed to be further waning as the season wore on, I personally was glad to see Johansson return for the stretch run. Johansson’s mobility through neutral helped Washington get more time on attack, which we can see in the rate of shots they attempted. For the season on the whole, the Caps attempted 55.4 shots per hour, but when Johansson was on the ice that number shot up to 62.7 shots per hour. No other player came close to having that impact, and to me the change was palpable.

That’s because Johansson was a classic Brian MacLellan deadline pick-up: laser-focused to address a specific problem. The problem in this case was that the Capitals were dreadfully boring on offense on account of being slow as mud. The solution was Johansson’s spritely puck-carrying and movement. I can’t help but wonder if Johansson’s contrast on attack was a talent thing or a tactical thing. I suspect that the front office feels just as worried as we do about Washington’s ability to generate rush offense, and perhaps they feel to some degree frustrated by Laviolette’s (and McCarthy’s) sedate formulations for gaining the offensive zone.

Johansson offers a tactical solution in the form of talent. He gets you across neutral and across the blue line, so, hey, quit fretting if he’s not doing it according to the team’s standard operating procedures. This sorta GM-versus-coach trick only works late in a season; the tactics would get drilled out of the player in a full season. So I doubt it’s in the plan to bring Johansson back for next season. But I’m not capable of hiding my affection for this player (who will never score on a breakaway so we should all abandon that dream).

Johansson’s first stint with the team ended in a trade to the New Jersey Devils before the start of the 2017-18 season in exchange for a second-round pick (Martin Fehervary) and a third-round pick (dealt to Chicago for Michal Kempny).

The Caps brought Johansson back to the organization at last year’s trade deadline, sending Daniel Sprong to Seattle.

Here’s the Capitals press release:

Capitals Re-sign Marcus Johansson

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have re-signed forward Marcus Johansson to a one-year, $1.1 million contract, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

Johansson, 31, recorded 29 points (9g, 20a) in 69 games with Washington and the Seattle Kraken last season.

Johansson, who was drafted by the Capitals in the first round, 24th overall, in the 2009 NHL Draft, was re-acquired from Seattle for forward Daniel Sprong, a 2022 fourth-round pick and a 2023 sixth-round pick on March 21.

The 6’1”, 203-pound forward played seven seasons with Washington from 2010-17, compiling 290 points (102g, 188a) in 501 games. Johansson is one of 30 players in franchise history to play 500 games for the Capitals.

In 753 career games with Washington, the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild and Seattle, Johansson has recorded 407 points (144g, 263a).

Johansson additionally has 43 points (14g, 29a) in 103 career playoff games, including four game-winning goals and an overtime-winning goal as a member of the Capitals on April 23, 2017, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Landskrona, Sweden native has represented Sweden in the Olympics (2014) and the World Junior Championships (2009, 2010). Johansson won a silver medal with Sweden at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, won a bronze medal and served as captain for Sweden at the 2010 World Junior Championship and captured a silver medal with Sweden at the 2009 World Junior Championship.

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