It's Time to Talk About Marcus Johansson

This is not the first rodeo for Minnesota Wild fans and Marcus Johansson. 

Johansson first found himself in a Wild sweater during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. Minnesota thrust Johnasson into a top-line center spot to replace a traded Eric Staal. That move was not good for Johansson or the Wild, and the player moved on after that season. Johansson signed with the Seattle Kraken that offseason. After his one-year stint in Seattle, Johansson returned to where he started his career with the Washington Capitals as a former first-round pick who spent seven seasons in the nation's capital.

After registering 28 points in 60 games in Washington, Bill Guerin sent a third-round pick to the Capitals for Johnasson at the trade deadline last season. Johansson had one of the worst seasons of his career during the first trip to Minnesota. Many people viewed the deal as pretty meh for the Wild, and not much was expected out of Johansson during his second stint in St. Paul. 

It turns out that playing with Matt Boldy helps a player put up points. The Boldy-Johansson duo was electric to end the 2022-23 regular season. Johnasson had one of the best stretches of his career, with 18 points in 20 games to close out that year. The pair led the team in points over that span, while Boldy potted a ridiculous 15 goals in 20 games after Johansson joined his line. 

That pairing wasn’t nearly as effective in the playoffs, but Guerin had seen enough to give Johansson a two-year, $4 million extension. He should be fine as long as he’s with Boldy, right?

Welp. 

We’ve seen what happens when he’s not next to Boldy this year. When Boldy missed seven games with injury, Johansson has not been the same player he was last year. JoJo has a single goal and 11 assists through 27 games this season. The 33-year-old has consistently logged top-six minutes for the Wild this year, but his production has not matched that of a top-six forward. 

Johansson is on pace to score three goals this year. The Swede has a 36-point scoring pace, which would be worse than last season. Still, it’s pretty solid compared to what he’s done over the last few seasons. Johansson has struggled to score, but the real kicker is his struggle to play a full season. 

It’s no surprise that Johansson had his highest point total in the last eight years last year when he played 80 games with the Caps and the Wild. The last time JoJo played a full 82-game season was with the Capitals in 2016-17. JoJo put up a career-high in goals (24) and points (58) that year playing with Nicklas Backstrom (the center, not the former Wild goalie). 

But injuries have plagued Johansson after that season. Injuries were most likely the cause of his poor performance in Minnesota the first time.  

Johansson has not been injured this season. So what gives with his lack of production?

JoJo has never been a goal scorer. He’s a playmaker and thrives when he has goal-scorers to play with. If you look at the best stretches of his career, they’ve all been with elite goal-scoring talent beside him. He had Alexander Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie in Washington and Boldy in Minnesota. 

Joel Eriksson Ek, Johansson, and Boldy have been the Wild’s third-most deployed line in terms of time on ice. Eriksson Ek and Boldy are among the top four on the team in goals, with Ek leading the way. 

Johansson’s underlying stats are also pretty solid. Johansson is middle of the pack in GF%, xGF%, CF%, and xGF%. JoJo’s numbers have been solid in almost every area except the point column.

It’s not like his shooting percentage is dreadful, either. Johansson is 10th on the team at 10.52%. His PDO is exactly at 1, so we should not expect a regression or an improvement. It’s not like JoJo has been playing terribly overall; the scoresheet just hasn’t been friendly to him. 

Photo credit via The Athletic. 

Will Johansson score again this season? Yes, he will. I doubt he’ll let Jake Middleton outscore him all year. (Middleton has four goals, three more than Johansson). The problem people have with JoJo is that he’s not the same point-per-game player he was at the end of last season. The expectations for Johansson at the start of the year may have been too high. 

Johansson has not been a player who scores at an elite rate for any extended period of his career outside that one season in Washington. The hot streak JoJo went on with Boldy at the end of the year was exactly that – a hot streak. Boldy’s early-season injury interrupted JoJo’s mojo.

Now, Johansson is playing with Marco Rossi and Mats Zuccarello, both capable goal-scorers. Johansson has to increase his scoring output soon, and Rossi and Zuccarello should help with that. It’s not too little too late for JoJo, as there is still plenty of season left. A skilled veteran like him will find a way to correct his goal total throughout the season.

Even if Johansson continues at this pace for the rest of the year, it would be disappointing but not a terrible use of resources. There are worse things than paying $2 million for 40 points. Wild fans must accept Johnasson for the player he is and has been, not the player who went on a hot streak with Boldy for a few weeks. 

All stats and data via Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick, and HockeyDB unless otherwise noted.