Wild Re-Sign Marcus Johansson Before He Hits Free Agency – Wilderness Walk

The Minnesota Wild are getting some of their business done before the Stanley Cup has even been awarded. 

Announced by the team on Monday afternoon, the Wild have re-signed veteran forward Marcus Johansson to a one-year contract with a salary of just $800,000. This is a significant decrease in salary compared to the two-year deal that was about to expire later this month — from $2 million to that $800,000.

The 34-year-old winger had a fairly regular role in the Wild lineup this past season. He averaged the sixth-most TOI among all Minnesota forwards, but due to the substantial injuries that caused Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek to miss months, he regularly played further up the lineup in their absence.

What will be his role for the 2025-26 season? It sure seems like Johansson should be lower in the lineup than he was in the past, with young players like Liam Ohgren playing above him. But, truly, who knows?

• The Buffalo Sabres might have made goal-scoring winger JJ Peterka available via trade. What will a trade to bring the German winger to Minnesota, look like? [Hockey Wilderness]
• While Marco Rossi might get traded, it seems like it won’t happen unless his contract demands lower to more palatable for a whole lot of teams. [Daily Faceoff]

That’s Wild

• Aleksander Barkov won the King Clancy Award and Selke Trophy for his efforts this past season. And he got the trophies in a special way. [NHL.com]
• Another day, another trade board from someone who has had some good reports. This time it’s Nick Kypreos and he has a list of names you sort of expect. [Sportsnet]

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