The Washington Capitals traded forward Marcus Johansson to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for 2018 second- and third-round picks, the teams announced Sunday. Johansson has two years left at a $4.583 million cap hit remaining on his current contract.
Capitals trade Marcus Johansson to Devils in cost-cutting move
Johansson gives New Jersey an immediate dose of skill.
Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images
The Capitals get the Panthers’ second-round pick and the Maple Leafs’ third-round pick next year.
The Capitals needed to move some pieces after signing star forward Evgeny Kuznetsov to an eight-year extension worth $7.8 million per year on Sunday. Kuznetsov was a restricted free agent, and his deal took up a big chunk of Washington’s remaining salary cap space.
Johansson, 26, is coming off a career year in which he recorded 24 goals and 34 assists in 82 games. It was his fourth straight season with at least 44 points as he proved to be one of the Capitals’ most reliable secondary scorers.
Now he heads to a Devils team that could definitely use him. New Jersey should have a strong one-two punch in Taylor Hall and No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier, but even after adding Johansson, they have just eight NHL forwards under contract right now. So New Jersey needed to make moves before next season no matter what, and Johansson won’t be the last one.
It’s hard not to like the deal for New Jersey, which only had to give up a couple picks to get a very good player in his prime. Teams often give up a lot more to get someone as good as Johansson paid so reasonably for multiple seasons.
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