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Welcome Back Marcus Johansson! (And Goodbye, Daniel Sprong)

(Caps Outsider)

The Capitals traded for a player they were forced to trade several years ago, as Washington acquired forward Marcus Johansson from the Seattle Kraken for forward Daniel Sprong. Also, Seattle gets a 2022 fourth round pick and a 2023 sixth round pick. But there’s more – Seattle will retain 50% of Johansson’s contract, so the Caps stay out of cap trouble.

Johansson, 31, has 6 goals and 17 assists in 51 games with the Kraken this season. He previously played seven seasons with Washington from 2010-17, when he scored 102 goals and added 188 assists in 501 games, many of which were on the top line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.

Johansson was selected by the Capitals in the first round, 24th overall, in the 2009 NHL Draft.

In 2017-18, the Capitals were running into salary cap trouble so basically had to get rid of Johansson. However, they still won the Stanley Cup that season, so all worked out.

Meanwhile, Sprong had 8 goals and 6 assists in 47 games this season. The Capitals got Sprong from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Christian Djoos in 2020.

That said, this is a trade where the Caps get an older guy, clearly not in his prime, for a younger guy and prospects, so other than the familiarity of getting Mojo back, this is a curious move.

Ben Sumner

Ben Sumner is the editor of Capitals Outsider. He also works for The Washington Post and contributes there when he gets a scoop.

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