Capitals acquire Johan Larsson for forward depth

The Washington Capitals weren’t done after bringing back Marcus Johansson. Later in the day before the 3 p.m. NHL Trade Deadline they acquired Johan Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 2023 third rounder. The Coyotes will retain 50 percent of Larsson’s salary.

The 29 year old is a native of Lau, Sweden. He recorded 15 points with six goals and nine assists in 29 games with the Coyotes this season. The five foot 11, 206 pound forward ranked second among Arizona forwards in penalty kill time per game at 1:49.

In addition, Larsson’s 4.57 relative shot attempt percentage at five on five ranked first among Arizona players with at least 20 games played. He’s also spent time with the Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres, playing in 474 career NHL games. He has recorded 126 career points with 52 goals and 74 assists.

Larsson was selected by the Wild in the second round at 56th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. He has repressed Sweden in the World Junior Championship in 2018, winning a gold medal after recording two assists in 13 games. Marcus Johansson also represented Sweden in the World Junior Championship, captaining the team in 2012 en route to a gold medal.

Larsson will wear number 22 while Johansson reunites with his number 90. He is coming off of sports hernia surgery. He was supposed to practice fully with the Coyotes prior to getting dealt but they canceled practice. He is a versatile forward that can also play defense. In Arizona he was used almost exclusively at center but can also skate on the wings.

Larsson will likely be Carl Hagelin’s replacement on the fourth line alongside Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway. Overall I thought the Caps did OK at the trade deadline but could’ve done better. But they addressed what they needed to address on the forward front. It’s a shame Daniel Sprong did work out.