Wild’s Johnasson Heads Home, Signs in Sweden

The Minnesota Wild’s season may have ended earlier than anyone hoped, but that doesn’t mean they’ll have a quiet offseason. The first couple of weeks haven’t been too crazy, but over the last few days, the Wild have been in the headlines for different reasons. The first was when the Detroit Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin made news for requesting a trade out of Detroit. 

The second, which might not be huge news but does affect them, is that the Wild’s Marcus Johansson, who was set to become a free agent on July 1st, decided to head back to his home country of Sweden rather than potentially signing with the Wild. In this article, we’ll look at how this impacts the Wild, starting with his play last season. 

Wild’s Johansson Best Season in Decade 

Marcus Johansson has had an interesting history with the Wild. His first tilt with them was back in 2020-21 when he was traded from Buffalo. His season was cut short due to COVID when they started the season late, and then he was injured during the postseason. Following that season, he left to join Seattle and didn’t come back until he was traded to the Wild once again, this time from the Washington Capitals in 2023. 

He’s been with the Wild ever since, and his career has improved every season he’s been with them. This past season, he played in 75 games and scored 15 goals plus assisted on 34 others for a total of 49 points, the first time he’s gone over 40 points since the 2016-17 season. 

Johansson also found himself a spot on the second line with Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek. The three of them had very strong chemistry and worked well together for the majority of the season when all of them were healthy. While he appeared to have a lot of ups and downs in his play, overall, he did make an impact, and the Wild will miss him now that he’s leaving. 

Wild Need Hidden Gem 

Many didn’t give Johansson the credit he deserved for what he brought to the lineup, mainly because he was on a line with Boldy and Eriksson Ek, who took a lot of the attention. What likely caused a lot of the animosity was Johansson’s tendency to get a break with the puck only to barely get past the opposing blue line and be stopped by the opponent’s defense. He had the talent to get around them, but would almost always get stopped. 

Regardless, the Wild will miss his ability to fit in on that second line and help make things happen. He worked well with Boldy and Eriksson Ek, but now they’ll have to find another wing that can fit in with those two. While the Wild are on the lookout for a center and most of their headlines have been linked to centers, they may need someone already on their roster to step up. 

Someone like Danila Yurov, if he’s still on the roster by the time the season starts, or if he’s not, they also have Vladimir Tarasenko if the Wild decide to re-sign him and he decides to stay. He was up and down when he was elevated in the lineup, but if he starts out with them at the beginning of the season, he may find a good rhythm. It could also be someone completely different, depending on who the Wild keep and who they let go, but hopefully, they’ll find someone to fill the role. 

Johansson Heads to Sweden

The Wild had 10 unrestricted free agents this offseason that they needed to make decisions on, including Johansson and also Michael McCarron. However, now they have two fewer as Johansson signed in Sweden and McCarron signed a six-year extension on Tuesday, June 9, to stay with the Wild. 

It came as somewhat of a surprise that Johansson left because, according to an article by The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith, the Wild did make an offer to Johansson, but he decided to head home to Sweden (‘Wild free agent updates? Kaprizov concerns? What’s wrong with Iowa? Ask Russo and Smith Part 2’, The Athletic, 06/08/2026). While Johansson did have a strong season, he was making just above league minimum. 

Although the Wild wanted to bring him back, Johansson deciding to leave may be the better move for everyone. He gets to finish out his career in his home country in front of his friends and family and doesn’t have to deal with his career slowing down or moving teams again. It’ll help the Wild with a little bit more cap space to make room for someone. Of course, $800,000 doesn’t seem like a lot in the grand scheme, but it could help in the future. 

Hopefully, this move works out the best for both sides, and while the Wild will miss Johansson, it was his decision to make. He gets to play at home and have a little less pressure than in the NHL, and the Wild can use his cap space towards another player.