Buffalo's new forward, Marcus Johansson, just finished a 3yr./$13 million contract signed in 2016 while he was with the Washington Capitals. The Caps selected Johansson 24th-overall in the 2009 NHL Draft and traded him to the New Jersey Devils in 2017 (for a 2018 second and 2018 third round pick) to alleviate cap-problems. This past spring Johansson was on the move again as he was sent to the Boston Bruins as a rental for a 2019 second rounder and a 2020 fourth. After performing very well for the Bruins in their run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final he became a free agent it was assumed that he'd be getting a nice bump from the $4.583 million AAV he was running with on his last contract.
It didn't happen like that as Johansson signed a two-year deal with the Sabres for an AAV of $4.5 million.
That Buffalo got themselves a pretty good player on a very team-friendly deal, shouldn't be debated. However, where Johansson plays in the lineup and what kind of production we might see from him will ultimately determine just what Buffalo got for their money.
Johansson has spent most of his career at third line left wing on playoff teams, that's where he was in Washington for the majority of his seven seasons with the Capitals and that's where he landed when the Bruins traded for him. He spent most of his time in New Jersey as their second-line left winger behind Taylor Hall and in Buffalo he'll be in a similar role for the club. Which side is yet to be determined but Johansson was signed to be in Buffalo's top six.
It's been said that Johansson can play any forward position and it's been mentioned that he's more comfortable on the left side. When the announcement of his signing in Buffalo came out, many in Sabreland believed he was the No. 2 center the Sabres were looking for, which might have been a pretty good stretch to think that way, although we should never say never. And with an obvious hole at right wing, he was easy to plug into a top-six role on the right side making room for Victor Olofsson to project into a top-six, left wing role. In that situation the top-six would look something like this:
Jeff Skinner-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Olofsson-Casey Mittelstadt-Johansson
Although it looks much stronger than last season, the Sabres still have a very young center in Mittelstadt, who proved last season that he wasn't quite ready for prime time in a No. 2 center role, and a player in Olofsson who has the talent, but is still very much an unknown quantity at the NHL level.
The other option would be to put Johansson on the left side behind Skinner. In that case it the lineup might look something like this:
Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart
Johansson-Mittelstadt-Kyle Okposo/Tage Thompson/Evan Rodrigues
Of the two scenarios, most Sabres fans (this blogger included) would prefer the first as we've seen far too many underachieving vets come and go in the top-six as the team insisted upon veteran leadership in key roles. I think many would take the question marks in Olofsson and Mittelstadt over trying to force-feed an Okposo or Thompson, stretch the capabilities of Rodrigues or even take a stab at Alexander Nylander, who hasn't proven anything at the NHL level, in that role.
All of this, of course, is barring any further moves by the club. Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill and is well aware of the holes in the lineup and he'll be working the rest of the summer to address them. However, that may prove to be difficult as that type of player isn't there amongst the remaining free agents. Botterill will need to go the trade route if he wishes to find that No. 2 center or right wing and in doing so he'll need to give up the appropriate assets to attain one.
Regardless of which scenario they go with, signing Johansson improves the top-six immensely even if he may be playing slightly above his ideal role and he'll also add another dimension to either of Buffalo's powerplay units. And when you factor in the dollars, as well as the term, it's a great signing for the Sabres.
Many players on Buffalo's roster can play multiple positions, but here's what the Sabres depth chart up front looks like right now:
Left wing
Skinner
Johansson
Vesey
Olofsson
Conor Sheary
Scott Wilson
C.J. Smith
Zemgus Girgensons
Remi Elie
Center
Eichel
Rodrigues
Mittelstadt
Vladimir Sobotka
Rasmus Asplund
Artuu Routsalainen
J.S. Dea
Matej Pekar
Right wing
Reinhart
Okposo
Thompson
Nylander
Curtis Lazar
Andrew Oglivie
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