Capitals Trade Marcus Johansson To Wild

The Washington Capitals have made another trade ahead of the deadline, sending Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild.

Washington has officially traded Johansson to Minnesota in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick. The move comes just four days after the team sent Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to the Boston Bruins for Craig Smith and picks. The Wild were also involved in that deal, helping Boston retain 50 percent of Orlov's salary after an extension between Orlov and the Capitals became "impossible."

Through 60 games so far this season, Johansson has 13 goals, which rank third on the team, and 15 assists for 28 points. He missed the last two games with a non-COVID illness. Not only was he providing secondary scoring and mainly playing a top-6 role and spending a lot of his time on the second line, but he also logged a lot of time on the power play as a trusted puck carrier who specialized in zone entries. Not only did the coaching staff like him, but he's a strong locker-room presence and well-liked and respected by his teammates.

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Washington brought in Johansson at the trade deadline last season in exchange for Daniel Sprong, a 2022 third-rounder and 2023 sixth-rounder. The 32-year-old subsequently re-signed for one year at $1.1 million in the offseason.

The Swede has spent the majority of his career with the Capitals. Washington took him 24th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, and he spent eight years with the team before being traded to the New Jersey Devils in 2017. He spent five years bouncing around different teams, playing for the Devils, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Wild and Seattle Kraken before coming back to D.C. in 2022.

In 813 career NHL games, Johansson has 157 goals and 278 assists for 435 points. This will be his second run with the Wild, who he last played for in 2020-21. He skated 35 games with Minnesota in that COVID-shortened season, picking up six goals and eight assists.