Wild Re-Sign Marcus Johansson Before He Hits Free Agency

I have a day to sleep on this one and now have a new opinion.  I was ok with league minimum for NoJo because he was an effective nhl’r AT THE END OF HIS LAST CONTRACT.  There’s a pattern with this stiff.  He should have been released on principle alone.  Yesterday I thought well he’s our veteran depth signing for end of season (NyQuil).  But P-Sting that’s better value than a 2nd rd pick right?  Guess what, we’ll have another season of NoJo avoiding contact, toepick and stick flip and water ski back checking.  Literally the opposite of grit. And you know he’ll play middle six minutes ALL season.  bill what is your plan?  bill is the same guy who wanted to give Rossi away for Laine (same laine that got benched in playoffs).  I’m back to Nono NoJo regardless of price and term. 

At least he's cheap, I guess... this one is a head-scratcher for me. 

As a barely-above-minimum insurance policy for Ohgren / Yurov / ???, I'm not completely against keeping NoJo for another year.

Problem is, doing this now seems to perpetuate the idea that Billy G. values "the devil you know" vs. any sort of uncertainty.  A GM who trusts his scouting department, and his own evaluation skills, would likely either:

- Make a list of the best candidates for this "veteran insurance" role around the league, and target them in trades (for low draft picks) or FA,  or

- Have resources in Iowa to fill this role, with intent and planning for their development

But Billy simply runs it forward with the same players he knows, ignoring the fact that they will all eventually see drops in their performance. In NoJo's case, his speed is probably his biggest asset; will that be at the same level next year at age 35? Billy hopes so, but we'll see.

I don’t think money is important in this contract. It is just strange move in general. Johansson is not a 4 liner so he will  occupy 2nd or 3rd line spot. Considering Foligno - Hartman - Trenin (or Freddy) is the 3 rd line he will be playing on the 2nd … again . Zuccarello will hold the other spot and Rossi (or his replacement) will hold the other. Then where are the spots for Ogden? Yurov? Or our other “best in the league “ prospects? And this is not even counting the “great” signing this summer. Unless he will be scratch each game which I really doubt … Maybe somebody can explain the rationale for this move 

Wtf why?  Shouldn't that slot be available for the young guys with more potential?

I hope he'll be playing 4th line with Gaudreau primarily, and otherwise serve as injury insurance.  In that case, it's decent depth.  But 89 and 90 are the definition of soft skill, as well as mid-30s, so it makes the impending loss of Rossi even more perplexing.  In fact, Rossi/Trenin/Braz were absolutely better than JoJo/Gaudreau/Nyquist in the playoffs, so not sure what to think about Hynes at this point.  Not sure how the PK is going to get better next year with much of the same roster?

It also says some of the youth down in Iowa have a long way to go.  Good luck retaining some of those kids in the future, if you're never going to give them a sniff of the show.

Someone please tell me this re-signing is Step 1, and Step 2 is move him out in some lucrative multi-player trade as cheap trade bait.  I'm not seeing any NTC or NMC with the articles.  Also puzzled that MoJo could have became an RFA instead inks a deal to make less than half of the 2 prior seasons?  Unless he's aware his NHL value has declined and something is better than nothing?

This has to be insurance on the cheap.  Pressbox until someone gets hurt. 

If that is how it plays out then fine.  

Anyone seen Protec?  Welfare check?

24 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

This has to be insurance on the cheap.  Pressbox until someone gets hurt. 

If that is how it plays out then fine.  

Yeah, it does give the young guys someone to beat out. At $800k and without trade protections, it's a contract Guerin can move as well. If the Wild waived him, someone else would likely grab him and incur the small cap hit.

I'm not excited about Johansson on the Wild, but at $800k, it's hard to get too upset about it. I do not want him playing 2nd line, but if they give him 4th line minutes, he might add some speed to a line that otherwise often lacks it.

This is not a move that's going to block any prospects who are truly ready to play at the NHL level. Yurov and Ohgren should be playing ahead of him.

4 hours ago, bisopher said:

In NoJo's case, his speed is probably his biggest asset; will that be at the same level next year at age 35?

I think it will be, but for significantly less games.

3 hours ago, Lovehockey said:

I don’t think money is important in this contract. It is just strange move in general. Johansson is not a 4 liner so he will  occupy 2nd or 3rd line spot. Considering Foligno - Hartman - Trenin (or Freddy) is the 3 rd line he will be playing on the 2nd … again . Zuccarello will hold the other spot and Rossi (or his replacement) will hold the other. Then where are the spots for Ogden? Yurov? Or our other “best in the league “ prospects? And this is not even counting the “great” signing this summer. Unless he will be scratch each game which I really doubt … Maybe somebody can explain the rationale for this move 

I think we have to wait it out and see what else happens to see what the rationale is.  For example if any trades are made, free agent signings, where he ends up playing and how much and the progress of our younger players.  

51 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

Anyone seen Protec?  Welfare check?

Things happen. Last week I put my self into the hospital with tingling under the jaw and inside forearms. Turns out I was having a mild heart attack. Heart cath the next day, stent put in and another night in the hospital. I think I've got a couple of weeks of "taking it easy" ahead of me. Let's just say I had an eventful May.

I haven't seen much of ODC or Protec on the board. Perhaps they're working out improving their handicap? I certainly hope all is well. 

For you guys a little younger than me out there, when something doesn't quite feel right, get checked out by someone who knows. I had a heart attack 15 years ago which was much more severe and triple bypass 5 years ago. I can tell you that getting to the hospital before your symptoms get serious plays a huge role in the amount of recovery time you will have. A triple bypass is always better when scheduled (like I did) than when done on an emergency basis. This time, my symptoms weren't as great as 15 years ago, and recovery is already way ahead of that.

Stay healthy out there, Wilderness!

48 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Things happen. Last week I put my self into the hospital with tingling under the jaw and inside forearms. Turns out I was having a mild heart attack. Heart cath the next day, stent put in and another night in the hospital. I think I've got a couple of weeks of "taking it easy" ahead of me. Let's just say I had an eventful May.

I haven't seen much of ODC or Protec on the board. Perhaps they're working out improving their handicap? I certainly hope all is well. 

For you guys a little younger than me out there, when something doesn't quite feel right, get checked out by someone who knows. I had a heart attack 15 years ago which was much more severe and triple bypass 5 years ago. I can tell you that getting to the hospital before your symptoms get serious plays a huge role in the amount of recovery time you will have. A triple bypass is always better when scheduled (like I did) than when done on an emergency basis. This time, my symptoms weren't as great as 15 years ago, and recovery is already way ahead of that.

Stay healthy out there, Wilderness!

Yeah, definitely take it easy.  Sounds like you have been through the gauntlet and then some.

I think Protec might be face in the dirt drunk after hearing the news.

3 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Yeah, it does give the young guys someone to beat out. At $800k and without trade protections, it's a contract Guerin can move as well. If the Wild waived him, someone else would likely grab him and incur the small cap hit.

According to Russo NoJo got a full NTC. His motivation is staying in Minnesota.

Leopold talked about Christmas in July, so maybe the 800k deal for Marcus was intended to save money for a big free agent or trade. I still want Guerin to try and get Brady Tkachuk via trade, especially now that the Wild seem intent to move on from Rossi.

4 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Things happen. Last week I put my self into the hospital with tingling under the jaw and inside forearms. Turns out I was having a mild heart attack. Heart cath the next day, stent put in and another night in the hospital. I think I've got a couple of weeks of "taking it easy" ahead of me. Let's just say I had an eventful May.

I haven't seen much of ODC or Protec on the board. Perhaps they're working out improving their handicap? I certainly hope all is well. 

For you guys a little younger than me out there, when something doesn't quite feel right, get checked out by someone who knows. I had a heart attack 15 years ago which was much more severe and triple bypass 5 years ago. I can tell you that getting to the hospital before your symptoms get serious plays a huge role in the amount of recovery time you will have. A triple bypass is always better when scheduled (like I did) than when done on an emergency basis. This time, my symptoms weren't as great as 15 years ago, and recovery is already way ahead of that.

Stay healthy out there, Wilderness!

Get well!

I don’t mind it at that price.

He can keep a place warm for a struggling prospect if needed, or cover for the inevitable injury.  If he gets some ice time and plays remotely well, someone else with a temporary injury hole will take him.  If he stinks, you’re not out anything.

The issue I could have is if they’re unwilling to yank him from the lineup.

MJ will be motivated because his personal goal - beside having peace of mind with the family - is just to stay fit and be full of energy to aim for Gold at the Olympics in February. He'll get some games with the Wild anyway. And he wouldn't have earned more in SHL. He'll probably sign off back home to Sweden next year. And maybe, maybe we need his experience and impact in the play-offs. So good, fair deal for both sides. 

13 hours ago, Beast said:

The issue I could have is if they’re unwilling to yank him from the lineup.

This is really the only downside.  If Nojo, after the first 20 games on 4th line, gravitates to the middle six and plays his NHL place-holder game (see: Fred Gudreau) for the remaining 62 games that'll be hard for any Wild fan who's been patiently waiting for cap hell to end. 

So, with Rossi talk going on around the league, this is the type of stuff that gets talked about:

Quote

Rob Williams on the the Vancouver Canucks. Should they look at Marco Rossi? Should they spend in free agency? They’re prospect pool is a little weak, and they need to convince Quinn Hughes he needs to stay.

“It’s all just kind of like, all right, which young player and the first, first-round pick are they going to package together to, to trade for a center, right? As if it’s like a foregone conclusion that that’s, that they’re stuck in a bind, and that’s, that’s their only option.

Like, I don’t know guys. Like, you trade one of your good young defensemen and a first-round pick for Marco Rossi. Is Rossi the guy? I don’t know. I, like, or is he just another guy? I would be really nervous for them making that move.

from NHLtraderumors. 

What makes this a bit confusing is coming back the other way. Why would we want the #15 pick in this upcoming draft plus a defensive prospect? These are national guys spitballing on the hot stove league, but, seriously, do they never look at the other team to think it makes sense?

Do they thing maybe we'll redefine the game and play 2 forwards and 3 defenseman? That would be the State of Hockey, right? 😉 (for Pewter)

On the other side of the article, it appears that Vancouver stars Demko, Pettersson and Hughes want out. Hughes is a different animal, he wants to play with his brothers, so it's not just get traded, but get traded to 1 specific team. 

So, for those guys to say, "hey, just flip MN a defensive prospect and a 1st and you can get Rossi," perhaps there is something here that can flip Pettersson for Rossi. I think I could be ok with Pettersson at center here, and I do think he'd fit right in. I don't think it would be 1 for 1, but we would also be swallowing significant cap, so, it could be a favorable deal on paper.

On 6/4/2025 at 9:27 AM, mnfaninnc said:

So, with Rossi talk going on around the league, this is the type of stuff that gets talked about:

from NHLtraderumors. 

What makes this a bit confusing is coming back the other way. Why would we want the #15 pick in this upcoming draft plus a defensive prospect? These are national guys spitballing on the hot stove league, but, seriously, do they never look at the other team to think it makes sense?

Do they thing maybe we'll redefine the game and play 2 forwards and 3 defenseman? That would be the State of Hockey, right? 😉 (for Pewter)

On the other side of the article, it appears that Vancouver stars Demko, Pettersson and Hughes want out. Hughes is a different animal, he wants to play with his brothers, so it's not just get traded, but get traded to 1 specific team. 

So, for those guys to say, "hey, just flip MN a defensive prospect and a 1st and you can get Rossi," perhaps there is something here that can flip Pettersson for Rossi. I think I could be ok with Pettersson at center here, and I do think he'd fit right in. I don't think it would be 1 for 1, but we would also be swallowing significant cap, so, it could be a favorable deal on paper.

Half the people here don't think about making trade suggestions either.  It's offer x, y, and z for A when player A is a pillar on their roster that the whole team is built on. 

Yes, sometimes that happens, but in those cases it's usually because the team can't re-sign player A or player A wants out.  The only other time it happens is when a team has a number of really good players and they can afford to trade out a star player to make the team better overall.

Ottawa isn't trading Tkachuk.  Carolina isn't trading Svechnikov.  Toronto isn't trading Nylander, especially if both Marner and Tavares leaves.

I could see Dallas trading Robertson for cap reasons.

I could see Boston trading Pastrnak if they don't feel like they can bounce back quick enough before Pasta starts to decline.

That said, teams have to offer what they would want.

21 hours ago, raithis said:

Half the people here don't think about making trade suggestions either.  It's offer x, y, and z for A when player A is a pillar on their roster that the whole team is built on. 

You're right about this, but shouldn't we expect more from so called "experts" and "insiders?" I think we definitely should! This half of the people you reference are used to video game trading where the computer is an idiot. Throw in this, throw in that, done deal and wonder why these things never happen. 

Take Kalisha, for instance. Some of her deals are just insane. But she had a well thought out one with the Rangers that could help both clubs.

The Wild brass realize how much they mistakenly gave up for Nyquist at the trade deadline, which is why they resigned JoJo already for depth, and it's quickly becoming apparent how shallow the UFA market is this offseason for everybody, which is also why Colorado resigned Nelson before the market opens.  Definitely not signing Boeser now, no spots available.

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

Take Kalisha, for instance. Some of her deals are just insane. But she had a well thought out one with the Rangers that could help both clubs.

I looked at that one too and agree, there is meat there to explore.