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Washington Capitals: Marcus Johansson Looking for his First Stanley Cup

By Andrew Gillis

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 19: Marcus Johansson #90 of the Washington Capitals celebrates a goal by teammate Alex Ovechkin #8 (not pictured), against Frederik Andersen #31 and Martin Marincin #52 during the first period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 19: Marcus Johansson #90 of the Washington Capitals celebrates a goal by teammate Alex Ovechkin #8 (not pictured), against Frederik Andersen #31 and Martin Marincin #52 during the first period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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If the Washington Capitals and Marcus Johansson had it their ways, Mojo would likely still be in Washington.

In early July of 2017, the Washington Capitals had to go through a salary cap purge — especially after the re-signing of T.J. Oshie, Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Sadly, Marcus Johansson was one of the purged.

Just hours after Kuznetsov signed an eight-year, $62.4 million dollar contract to stay in D.C., Johansson and his $4.58 million dollar cap hit was shipped to New Jersey for a second and a third-round pick. He found out about the news while back in Sweden.

After an injury plagued 2017-18 season where he played in just 29 games total, he played in three playoff games for the Devils in their first round series against the Lightning. The Capitals, as you may remember, had a bit more success than the Devils in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Johansson, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, admitted he struggled a bit with the success of the Capitals, as anyone would.

“I talked to a couple of guys, but you kind of want to leave them to their celebrating, too,” Johansson said in an interview with The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. “It looked like they had fun. I mean, who wouldn’t?”

A 2009 first-round pick of the Capitals, Johansson spent his first seven seasons in Washington before being shipped to New Jersey. A zone-entry specialist, he notched a career-high 24 goals and 58 points in his final season in D.C.

Now, though, he’s getting his long-awaited shot at the Stanley Cup.

After he was traded to the Bruins in February of this year, he only played in 10 games and scored one goal and had two assists. But in the playoffs, Johansson has found his game.

In 17 games, he had three goals, eight assists and is routinely posting more than 10 minutes of time on ice per game. Johansson is skating on the Bruins third-line with Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen and has provided depth to a team that was in sore need of it at the deadline.

Just a year after his former teammates lifted the Cup in Vegas, Johansson now has the opportunity to the same against the Blues.

Next. On the Blues side of things, former Capital Craig "The Chief" Berube is leading the charge. dark

While another Boston title might be agonizing to some D.C. sports fans, there can at least be a little solace taken in the fact that Johansson is shining on a stage that it appeared he might not ever get to.

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