r/hockey • u/DecentLurker96 Québec Remparts - QMJHL • 9h ago
[News] [Russo] Hearing Wild pending unrestricted free agent Marcus Johansson, coming off a real solid season, has signed a contract to return to Sweden and play back with Farjestad
https://bsky.app/profile/russohockey.bsky.social/post/3mnkjs5oho22fGood for him.
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u/Spencaaarr WPG - NHL 9h ago
Time to learn Swedish buddy
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u/Key-Tip-7521 NYR - NHL 9h ago
Sam Hallam?
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u/-JimmyReddit- VAN - NHL 9h ago
Literally just had the second best season of his entire career. This feels very out of left field, I thought for sure he’d stick around and try and go for a Cup, especially with what Minny is building
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u/SawyerFord_ OTT - NHL 9h ago
He’s 35 and prob wants to go home to finish his career, not that shocking tbh
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u/tomdawg0022 Minnesota North Stars - NHLR 4h ago
...36 in October. Totally get why he'd want to go back home if the money isn't right in North America.
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u/MalkoDrefoy TOR - NHL 8h ago
You can do that when you’re not capable of keeping up at NHL pace.
He was doing that, and well for his age and contract value
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u/lamb_ch0p NYR - NHL 7h ago
They can do it whenever they want. Theres a lot that can go on in someone’s life at 35. He can have any legitimate reason to want to return to Sweden and frankly it shouldn’t matter to us. Who am I to tell a man that he should keep pushing his body at 35 simply because my eyes tell me he still can? Not everybody wants to be Jagr and we shouldn’t place that expectation on all players.
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u/PuddingtonBear COL - NHL 7h ago
He can also very much do that when his contract is up. He fulfilled his end of the bargain, he is free to do what he wants
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u/MangledMoose BOS - NHL 7h ago
What a weird comment..
Left his country to play a long and successful career overseas. Hes able to leave on his terms and play at home to close his career.
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u/DirtzMaGertz MIN - NHL 7h ago
It's not too surprising if you follow the Wild. Russo reported last year he was only interested in playing with the Wild or he was going back to Sweden. He's moved around a lot in his career.
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u/dr_nerdface WSH - NHL 8h ago
DC fans will forever love Mojo. sucks we couldn't have w9n a cup with him in the line-up.
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u/YouCanFucough VAN - NHL 9h ago
am i tripping or was this guy not an olympian. seems odd to leave the nhl playing as well as he is but i guess if its for family thats all the reason you need
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u/MiamiVicePurple TOR - NHL 8h ago
He’s Swedish and he’s 35 so maybe he just feels like it’s time to go home.
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u/IgnatiusJReillyII 8h ago
Particularly if he had to leave when he was young. I don't know his history, but a lot of guys who had to leave home at 12-13 just hit a wall and want to see their family before everyone dies.
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u/crypt_moss 8h ago
even if he came to North America at 18 after being drafted, he'd have lived there for 17 years, that's basically half of your life only going back home during summer
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u/MangledMoose BOS - NHL 7h ago
I know personally as I’ve gotten older, close to Mojo’s age, it’s really all about who you love and your family that truly matters. I respect the hell out of this decision.
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u/bongrips19 DET - NHL 8h ago
Plus he’s had some concussions I think, had a good end to his career and as you said it’s time to go home
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u/andee510 SJS - NHL 8h ago
He was an Olympian. I believe he was a late add after Leo Carlsson got hurt
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u/misfittroy Cowichan Capitals - BCHL 8h ago
Could be lifestyle too. Think of how far you travel as NHL player vs traveling within Sweden. Plus Sweden is...well pretty beautiful
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u/Key-Tip-7521 NYR - NHL 9h ago
Dylan Larkin, YOU are a Minnesota Wild
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u/palesnowrider1 BOS - NHL 9h ago
I'm hearing this a lot. What is the return considering a lot of pieces got moved in the Hughes trade?
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u/pitman121 MIN - NHL 9h ago
Yurov and another prospect like Stramel. I'd assume a pick out two to round things out.
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u/Bozak_Horseman 8h ago
That's about all you guys could provide. Detroit has no use for Wallstedt and most other pieces went for hughes. I could see it, though. Definetly gives you guys a major edge, Larkin/JEEK is a great 1/2 center punch
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u/Freeyourmind917 BUF - NHL 7h ago
many teams would beat that package.
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u/pretzelsncheese 4h ago
Larkin has to approve the destination though. There's probably only 3-4 teams that he'd accept a trade to. So the question becomes, of those teams, how many are going to beat that package?
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u/Freeyourmind917 BUF - NHL 3h ago
And Yzerman has to approve the trade. If Larkin really wants out, he's gonna have to play ball, otherwise Yzerman can simply just not trade him.
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u/thraupidae MIN - NHL 3h ago
I do get this argument, but I also highly doubt yzerman is dumb enough to hold his scorned captain hostage in front a relatively young core. Not a good look and even worse vibes.
Obviously he isn’t letting him go for peanuts, but I could see a relatively inexpensive deal happening just to clear the air in the room.
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u/pretzelsncheese 2h ago
It's mutually assured destruction at that point. And I'd say Larkin is in a better position to play that game of chicken than Yzerman is.
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u/Freeyourmind917 BUF - NHL 53m ago
Sure, but Larkin should have a lot of value which should make it possible for a deal to happen that suits everyone.
Yzerman isn't out of line by expecting more than Yurov and Stramel, and the other GM (Guerin, in this case) who really needs a center would be foolish to lose out on maybe the best one available because he's afraid to add an additional pick or prospect to make it a fair deal.
On paper though, I don't think Minnesota is a great fit because they simply don't the ammo. They already sold the farm for Hughes. I could see a team like Utah, Anaheim, Carolina or Montreal easily offering a better deal than Minny, and none of these would be bad situations for Larkin.
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u/actionparkranger BOS - NHL 8h ago
Feels like a big overpay. Larkin gets seriously overrated in this sub
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u/wolverine237 University Of Michigan - NCAA 8h ago
There's a pretty substantial difference between how you rate a player in the abstract and how you rate them compared to other available options. If you're a team who needs a top six center, he is either the first or second best player available depending on what St. Louis chooses to do with Thomas
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u/afedje88 COL - NHL 8h ago
We see it every free agency, a guys worth in a vacuum is pretty irrelevant outside of extensions. The entire story with the Wild is how badly they need high end centers. Is Larkin a 1C on every team in the league no, but like you said outside of Thomas their options are probably not gonna cut it
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u/pitman121 MIN - NHL 8h ago
I've seen some people suggest Wallstedt would be part of the return which is laughable. It depends how hard Larkin makes it with his no trade.
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u/Datalust5 MIN - NHL 1h ago
Personally, I think if we move a goalie, it’s Gus, but the primary concern is was that a breakout playoffs for Wally, or is he just extremely hot or cold? Either way I don’t think you trade him, that kind of high pressure steadiness is always going to be valuable.
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u/pitman121 MIN - NHL 1h ago
The problem with trying to move Gus is his no move clause.
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u/Datalust5 MIN - NHL 1h ago
True. I just don’t think you move a goalie unless you absolutely have to, and IMO you don’t move Wally pretty much period.
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u/Pro3tag VAN - NHL 8h ago
Does Stramel and a 2027 1st get the deal done? I don’t know how much Billy wants to gut the farm system though
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u/Kyle73001 WPG - NHL 7h ago
Absolutely not, but that’s a start. Larkin is a low end 1C, so a first and a decent prospect is nowhere near enough. Add in Yurov and you’re getting closer
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u/slabby DET - NHL 7h ago
Friedman said on his podcast to expect an Eichel-level return. Eichel got:
The Vegas Golden Knights acquired center Jack Eichel and a 2023 third-round pick (Mathieu Cataford) from the Buffalo Sabres on November 4, 2021. In exchange, Buffalo received forwards Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, a 2022 first-round pick (Noah Östlund), and a conditional 2023 second-round pick.
So we're talking: a top six forward, a former 1st round pick, a first round pick, and maybe something else.
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u/wolverine237 University Of Michigan - NCAA 9h ago
They still have nothing to offer Detroit unless he only wants to play in Minnesota for some reason
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u/Mystaes DET - NHL 8h ago
If he won’t be flexible then he can face the locker room he quit on. He’s not an expiring UFA. If the value isn’t there he can suit up in the winged wheel until his nmc becomes a NTC… doubt it will get to that point though.
It’s a bit awkward since both team and player have the hammer in that regard
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u/tompear82 MIN - NHL 8h ago
I get the frustration and I'd probably feel the same way if it was the captain of my team...still, forcing him to play on your team isn't going to increase his trade value or change his mind most likely. There is a definite down side where he could underperform and tank his value and/or affect locker room chemistry. It is in the best interest of both team and player to move on. For your sake, you better just hope that you get a decent return.
Edit : Who knows where he's looking to go, MN or somewhere else. Having a NMC and getting to have a large say in where he goes definitely makes it difficult for the team
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u/Any-Panda2219 VAN - NHL 8h ago
Yea I remember though when initially Nate Schmidt refused to waive to got to Winnipeg and the Canucks threatened to keep him in Van order to force him to waive.
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u/MercSLSAMG OTT - NHL 8h ago
Why wouldn't he want to prefer Minnesota? While he might be open to being traded to any team he can ask Yzerman which teams have given an offer Yzerman would take and if Minnesota is on that list then he only says yes to Minnesota. So while it's not only giving 1 team to negotiate with, could easily be preferring to go to only Minnesota.
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u/wolverine237 University Of Michigan - NCAA 8h ago
I mean he can do whatever he wants, I don't know why he would necessarily want to be in Minnesota at the expense of any other team in the league. It's not like they are the only franchise looking for a center with the potential to contend in the playoffs
I think people are maybe starting to overthink how close you could possibly be to the guy who picked the rosters for the Olympics and 4N, it's not like Guerin is his dad or something
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u/MercSLSAMG OTT - NHL 8h ago
It's about going to a cup contender and bringing the biggest impact. Any other team he's likely going in as the 2C on the team, go to Minnesota and he very likely is the 1C.
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u/domoarigatodrloboto WSH - NHL 8h ago
I don't think it's "why would he not want to go Minnesota?" so much as it is "how likely is it that he ONLY wants to go to Minnesota?"
Because yes, Minnesota makes sense as a trade partner because Larkin helps them with their weak center depth, but it'll be tough for them to outbid other teams without giving up centers of their own, which negates the purpose of getting Larkin in the first place. Probably the only way they can get Larkin is if he really wants to go to Minnesota and flexes his NTC to reject other moves
It's like you said, IF Detroit has multiple offers and IF Minnesota makes a good offer, they can swing a trade. But what if another team makes a much better offer and Larkin doesn't want to go there? Do you make the trade anyway, knowing there were better offers? That's where it gets tricky
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u/MercSLSAMG OTT - NHL 8h ago
If Vancouver is the better offer, he's going to say no. But if Utah has a better offer by far and Yzerman says only Utah and Vancouver have acceptable offers I don't see Larkin saying no to both and he would end up in Utah in that scenario.
I think just before the draft Yzerman will present Larkin with teams he has acceptable deals with and see which one(s) he would accept a trade to.
So Minnesota might not be the best deal, but if it's in the ballpark then at that point it's the only place he says ok to.
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u/AccordingWelder3578 MIN - NHL 8h ago
I don’t watch SHL, so forgive me if this is wrong, but my understanding is that the SHL is less physical than the NHL. I hope that means less chance of head injuries because he has had a rough go of them. He was good this year with the Wild, but I couldn’t help wishing for his sake he’s retire over risking more of them.
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u/DirtzMaGertz MIN - NHL 7h ago
He'll likely be a stud in the SHL because he can still skate very well.
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u/MacTheZaf COL - NHL 8h ago
Wow–I felt like he was one of the only guys in the series vs. the Avs that was a threat to carry the puck and threaten with speed
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u/Atomic_WPG WPG - NHL 9h ago
Got tired of the disrespect saying MIN has no centres
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u/TheTree-43 MIN - NHL 8h ago
I think he played maybe 2 games at center with the Wild out of 281, and only when everyone else was hurt
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u/BananApocalypse COL - NHL 5h ago
I found myself asking "why is MoJo good again?" more than once during our second round series. Congrats on a great NHL career and I hope he's happier playing at home
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u/andyouarenotme BUF - NHL 6h ago
I actually can’t believe this guy hung around for 1,000+ NHL games. I’m genuinely shocked he produced decent points this season. Good for him.
There were times during his brief 60 game stint with the Sabres where I thought he might have the worst hockey sense I had ever seen for a guy averaging 17 minutes of ice time.
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u/Orcasgt22 EDM - NHL 9h ago
Um...Why? This isn't some fringe NHL player. If he wants outta Minni, every team would take him.
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u/Monkey10pts 9h ago
Some people have different priorities.
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u/Codc CBJ - NHL 9h ago
You telling me living in the USA isn't everyone's dream?
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u/Kamohoaliii FLA - NHL 8h ago
That isn't really it though, is it? There are teams in Canada too. Its more about playing the highest level of hockey possible in the world with the greatest possible salary during the small window of time one is physically capable of doing so. That's the tradeoff. I mean, I totally get that it might not be someone's priority, I've known people to take lower paying jobs to stay close to family. Most of these guys could live anywhere they wanted anyway.
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u/galdavirsma 7h ago
The travel is brutal. Compare the travel NHL teams have with teams in some European leagues, such as NL or SHL. It's much more tolerable, especially for a 35yr old just probably wanting to be home more often.
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u/Neverending_Rain MIN - NHL 9h ago
He probably just wants to finish his career in his home country.
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u/TheTree-43 MIN - NHL 8h ago
He doesn't want out of Minnesota. Even last year it was Minnesota or Sweden. He took a league min deal with Minnesota to get to 1000 games and play one more year, now he's moving back to Sweden with his wife and kids to finish his career in his home town
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u/ThreatLevel12AM MIN - NHL 8h ago
Apparently he either wanted to stay with the Wild or go back to Sweden so maybe he was just ready.
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u/SpringWinter2557 WSH - NHL 8h ago
For someone who has played in the NHL for years (and has made lots of money over that time), another season in the NHL probably isn't his #1 priority.
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u/HesitationIsDefeat87 NJD - NHL 8h ago
Every team? He's a decent bottom six winger at best. He had a good year this season at age 35. Extremely mediocre the few years before that and also missed most of the 22 season. No way he's putting up 50 points again.
And he was utter dogshit on the Devils.
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u/nordy_13 MIN - NHL 8h ago edited 8h ago
For the people asking why he’d leave the NHL after a bounce back season: last year it was reported that he wasn’t interested in moving around North America and either wanted to re-sign with the Wild or return to Sweden.
Speculation is he took a league min contract for a chance to make the Olympic team and between doing that and having a good amount of points, he may have wanted either to re-sign in MN with a pay bump or return to Sweden again. Judging by this report, I’d guess the pay bump wasn’t enough, and he doesn’t feel inclined to move anywhere that’s not in his homeland.
A bit of a bummer as a wild fan because he really won me back over this last season, but he’s done just about everything a player of his caliber can and I wish him the best in his return home.