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Article: The Wild Are Witnessing A Marcus Johansson Renaissance


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Johansson looks like he’s having fun this year. He’s playing confidently. Maybe his vibe can catch on in the locker room. I’d say he’s the best positive surprise of the season so far. I’m starting to expect him to score and be in the middle of some plays or in the right spot to score. Empty net goal? How about a No Net Goal. 

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I've never understood the Johansson hate. It's not like he was getting paid 5 million a year. He has always outplayed his contracts. 

It feels like Wild fans are mad at Johansson because injuries and underperforming players are forcing him higher in the lineup than is ideal. 🤷‍♂️

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If he's scoring, the positive can outweigh the bad for Johansson.

It's the scoring droughts that have plagued him with the Wild that stand out where you only get the bad(like the turnover that sent in a forward against Gus all alone). Hard to count on him scoring at a career best clip, but it's nice that he's been scoring. Gus deserved a win in that game.

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Just now, Dis-allowed display name said:

Mostly because he gave the appearance of just mailing it in shift after shift and plays well when he is on an expiring deal.

Well said.  And now to be an even bigger troll NoJo at 35 brings consistent effort game to game and playing like a legit nhl’r.  Proving that he was mailing it in thru all his time/stints with Wild.  

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16 hours ago, FredJohnson said:

Perfect time to trade him! (Before he comes back to his senses.)

(Or before GMBG gives him a 5 x 5 contract,)

It was reported that MoJo gave up $2M+ on the open market to sign an $800k deal here because he wanted to be in MN. SillyG had the cap space to pay the dude this year, but only offered a league min deal which seems pretty telling on the SillyG's opinion of him.  My guess is MoJo's going to retire in a Wild jersey if it's this year or within the next couple.

If you've followed this team, nobody here should be surprised if MoJo's good for another 30-40 points this year...

MoJo's not a gamebreaker, but he's definitely a guy who knows how to score in the NHL, and as a team starving for points, seems like he's a better option than any other guy available on a league min contract...

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18 hours ago, Patrick said:

I've never understood the Johansson hate. It's not like he was getting paid 5 million a year. He has always outplayed his contracts. 

It feels like Wild fans are mad at Johansson because injuries and underperforming players are forcing him higher in the lineup than is ideal.

Why don't I like Nojo?  Simple.  I think he is capable of this type of play every night.  But he doesn't.  He disengages himself and turns his shifts into skating drills that hurt the team.  The vast majority of his time with the Wild he does not play to his potential.  

That unwillingness to leave everything on the ice while his teammates do... ticks me off.  I don't care what your contract is... play every night like you want it.  That's why I loved watching Shaw play.  That kid gave everything he had every night.

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21 hours ago, Patrick said:

I've never understood the Johansson hate. It's not like he was getting paid 5 million a year. He has always outplayed his contracts. 

It feels like Wild fans are mad at Johansson because injuries and underperforming players are forcing him higher in the lineup than is ideal. 🤷‍♂️

It's always been about his minus rating, water-ski backchecking, coasting, circling away, shinny-goalie shot-block attempts, and general weenie-isms. He looks good now and has had stints before where he's been alright. Yes, he's not getting paid too much like Rask, but there's an affinity for some NoJo that Hynes cannot deny. 

NoJo has some ability and NHL experience, but the guys who don't like him are not crazy. They see the opposite of a guts guy and no amount of skill or elite Swedishness can compensate for lack of hockey toughness or will to win. He's an anti-going-gets-tough player. He was a solid 3rd liner in his prime on a very good Washington team. 

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5 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

Why don't I like Nojo?  Simple.  I think he is capable of this type of play every night.  But he doesn't.  He disengages himself and turns his shifts into skating drills that hurt the team.  The vast majority of his time with the Wild he does not play to his potential.  

That unwillingness to leave everything on the ice while his teammates do... ticks me off.  I don't care what your contract is... play every night like you want it.  That's why I loved watching Shaw play.  That kid gave everything he had every night.

He can't though. He is too soft.  He is an amazing skater and mediocre at everything else. I don't think it's effort though I think its lack of ability. I'm guessing he is relatively weak and has a small engine.

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Johansson is in a Wild sweater and he is producing. I don't particularly care for the how, but producing is producing. I do think that Kaprizov's goal scoring drought is specifically tied to Johansson, but Kaprizov is still getting points sometimes in a Johansson set up. 

Johansson has a couple of attributes, and I do think he cares. He's good at carrying pucks into the zone, he's not very good at distributing especially when there's traffic. He's got a decent shot when he uses it, but his go to is to defer. I would like to see more grit out of him which is really showing you're trying, but 8/10 times he gets owned in physical play. I also do not like him playing hot potato with the puck, throwing it around to spots he hopes a teammate is in. 

Would I like Johansson mentoring the kids on this team? Really, no. But he is a spare part. He is a guy making just above league minimum and can fill in for an injury up in the lineup. This is his role. He's likely earned ice time lower in the lineup, but it should not be at the expense of the kids. We are getting our money's worth with him, but he is a minor piece on this team.

I wouldn't call this a renaissance. 

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2 hours ago, Oliver It said:

“Dead cat bounce?”

closer to reality.

Johansson theory #2: This theory states that Johansson's prior contracts have been too heavy on his shoulders, and that by signing the $800k contract, it has lightened the load so we have no expectations over the Prossbox. This has allowed Johansson the freedom to actually produce. 

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I think most people don't realize or have forgotten that Johansson has a bad concussion history.  He suffered 3 concussions during the 2017/18 season along with McDonkey's glancing chicken wing last year that all resulted in Johansson missing time.  I'd be willing to bet this factors in to his style of play that lacks physicality and looks like he's mailing it in, which I can understand given the circumstance.

 

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