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Wild 49-point free agent forward signs contract to leave NHL, play in Sweden
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- Wild 49-point free agent forward signs contract to leave NHL, play in Sweden
Wild 49-point free agent forward signs contract to leave NHL, play in Sweden originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Minnesota Wild look set to head into a new season with one fewer veteran forward than they had in the recently concluded campaign.
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Marcus Johansson is a free agent, but he's not planning to sign elsewhere in the NHL. Instead, he's signing a contract in Sweden.
The Athletic's Michael Russo has reported on Friday that Johansson is going to sign with Farjestad to play in the Swedish league.
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Johansson is originally from Sweden, so this seems like a final return home for whatever length of time he wants to continue playing before retirement.
The 35-year old forward played 75 games for the Wild in 2025-26 and finished with 49 points -- 15 goals and 34 assists.
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He was originally a first-round pick (24th overall) by the Washington Capitals in the 2009 NHL Draft.
Johansson went on to play nine seasons (across two stints) with the Capitals.
He's also played for the Wild, the New Jersey Devils , the Buffalo Sabres , the Seattle Kraken and the Boston Bruins .
Johansson has played 1,058 NHL games overall with 200 goals and 366 assists.
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He's never made an All-Star team or won any awards or hoisted the Stanley Cup, but Johansson has had a high-quality NHL career, and this news may mean that it's coming to an end.
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The team Johansson is going to play for in Sweden, Farjestads BK Karlstad, is where he was playing when the Capitals drafted him.
Now, he gets a full circle return home to (probably) wrap up his hockey career.
