The Minnesota Wild grade reports keep flowing in, and this time, it’s for Marcus Johansson who’s had a complex reputation with Wild fans. “JoJo” as his teammates call him, joined the Wild for the second time shortly before the trade deadline in 2023. He started his journey with Minnesota looking strong in a short stint, but once he returned for a full season, things looked a little different.
Johansson’s season was complicated. On paper, he had a strong offensive season, but watching him play, things could’ve been better. Without the postseason, we’ll rely on his regular-season performance for a grade. We’ll examine a rough part of his game and a strong part of his game and then combine those for a grade.
Johansson’s Defensive Game Lacks
Johansson isn’t a defenseman, but every player on the team has to take responsibility in the defensive zone when they can. This includes blocking shots, pushing opponents to the outside, and breaking the puck out efficiently. Johansson contributed more blocked shots than some of his teammates, but he could’ve done better.
He played in 78 games for the Wild and had 29 blocked shots, which tied him for 17th place on the roster. This was shared with Jared Spurgeon, who only played 16 games. It’s understandable that he wouldn’t have as many blocked shots as the top defensemen on the Wild, but he could’ve done slightly more to help.
The other area he needs to improve on, more than his blocked shots, is his turnovers. He made a difference offensively, but he also gave up the puck 33 times, which was one of the highest on the team. Only five players were higher than he was, and they all handled the puck more than Johansson.
He has to improve his puck handling for this coming season so he doesn’t turn over the puck as much. That was a big issue with the entire team, but certain players were worse than others, and that can’t happen if they want to win games. Hopefully, Johansson can find a way to improve this part of his game before this coming season starts.
Johansson Finds Offense
Johansson is known for his speed and making a break for the net to score. He hasn’t gotten career numbers in the past few seasons, but this past season, he found a way to increase his points. He scored 11 times and assisted on 19 other goals for 30 points. He hasn’t been a big point producer over the years except the 2011-12’ season, when he tallied 46 points, and then a stretch from the 2013-14 season to the 2016-17 season, where he recorded over 40 points per season with one season coming in at 58 points.
Johansson’s 30 points don’t seem like a big deal, but for the Wild, it was, and it put him at eighth on the roster. While he found a way to score points, he wouldn’t have been able to do so without taking shots. He wasn’t shy about shooting whenever he could, as he took 112 shots on goal and was rewarded. He needs to keep that confidence going into this season and continue to take as many shots as he can.
The other area that deserves attention for being a good part of his game was the low number of penalty minutes he took. In the 78 games he played, he only took 22 minutes in penalties, and all of them were minors. He didn’t cost his team by taking any major or misconduct penalties; although he did take penalties, they were minimal.
Johansson’s Overall Grade
After reviewing the rough and good parts of his game, Johansson earned a C. Originally, his grade would’ve been lower, but after considering how much he contributed offensively compared to some of his teammates, he earned a slightly higher grade. However, on the flip side, it could’ve been higher, but his turnovers and small number of blocked shots made his grade a little lower.
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It’ll be interesting to see if Johansson can keep up his scoring this coming season now that he has scored 30 points. Hopefully, he can find a way to keep up his offense while also keeping his turnovers low and blocked shots high. The Wild will need his contributions if they expect to win more games this season.
