Wild 2025-26 Report Cards: Marcus Johansson

The NHL offseason continues to remain quiet, but there is some hockey going on as the World Junior Summer Showcase is underway in Windsor, Ontario. The Wild still have about a month and a half before they’ll hit the ice, and while we wait, it’s time to look at another report card from last season. We’re down to the final six forwards, and this time we’re taking a look at Marcus Johansson. 

He won’t be returning to the Wild next season as he decided to sign with his home country of Sweden. It was a bit unexpected that he chose that route, but at almost 36 years of age, it makes sense he’d want to return home. In this article, we’ll take a look at how he did in what may be his final NHL regular season and postseason to come up with an overall grade. 

Johansson Shows Up 

Marcus Johansson has had a very up-and-down career, but in his most recent stint with the Wild, he appeared to be on the upward trajectory. He played in 75 games and registered 15 goals plus 34 assists for 49 points, the most he’d had since 2016-17. That was a 15-point improvement from the season prior and a 19-point increase from the 2023-24 season. 

While his offense was on the rise, his defense was the opposite. His numbers decreased over the last three seasons in hits and blocked shots. He isn’t the type of player who throws his body around much, but his 34 hits last season were a decent number, lower than the season before but okay regardless. 

His blocked shots were more of an issue as he had just 20 blocks in 75 games. The Wild could’ve used more blocked shots, and nearly every player on the team could’ve improved in that area, Johansson included. Now that he’s signed in Sweden, a young player like Hunter Haight or Bobby Brink will have to fill the void. 

After looking at his stats, he earned a B, which may seem low for some since he had almost 50 points, but his defense needed to be better. Again, while Johansson isn’t a big hitter, he could’ve provided more blocked shots. On the other hand, his grade wasn’t lower because of those points he produced and his ability to improve his offense. 

Johansson’s Stats Flip in Postseason

He found a way to register points in the regular season, but when the postseason came around, he wasn’t able to keep up the same pace. He played in all 11 games, and he scored four goals for four points total. Not a lot of points, but better than not scoring at all, especially in the playoffs when goals are typically harder to come by. 

While he struggled a bit offensively, he stepped up defensively. He was more physical in the postseason with 21 hits, a pretty big number for how many games he played compared to his regular season total of 34 hits in 75 games played. His hits were up, but his blocked shots were still down with just five. 

It is harder to put up higher numbers in fewer games played, but after looking over his postseason performance, he earned a B-. His grade was slightly lower because the only stat of his that didn’t decrease was his hits. Interestingly enough, his hits increased despite playing fewer games. His grade wasn’t lower because he did find a way to produce, but not enough to earn higher. 

Johansson’s Overall Grade

Johansson earned a B for his regular season grade and a B- for his postseason grade, which means he earned a low B/high B- for his overall grade. He played above average throughout the regular season offensively but not defensively. Then in the postseason, he played right around average, but his higher number of hits earned him a slightly higher-than-average grade. 

Ultimately, his defense is what lowered his grade in both the regular season and postseason, as he didn’t sacrifice his body to block many shots but did throw some hits. He’s not usually a big hitter, so it was surprising to see his hits go up in the postseason and his offense went down, which again affected his grade. 

Unfortunately for the Wild, they won’t be able to see if he could improve on his grade this coming season since he signed back home in Sweden. It’ll be interesting to see how he does playing in his home country, but hopefully he’ll do well.