Johnsson is out, Bogosian is in
Moving contract clears way for Leafs to bulk up blue line
The Maple Leafs capped off a busy first two days of free agency by trading away their Mango. Then they added a Hulk.
Mango? That’s the nickname of winger Andreas Johnsson, who was the Calder Cup MVP in 2018 and earned himself a roster spot with the Leafs over the past two seasons. Toronto dealt him to New Jersey on Saturday for right winger Joey Anderson.
Shortly after, the Leafs signed six-foot-four, 235-pound defenceman Zach Bogosian to a one-year, $1-million (U.S.) deal.
Leafs GM Kyle Dubas was looking for more presence on his blue line and got it in Bogosian. The signing was made possible by discarding Johnsson’s cap hit.
When Johnsson signed a four year, $13.6-million deal in 2019, it seemed he had become part of the core of a roster building toward repeated, long playoff runs. But in these days of the flat salary cap and COVID-19’s stifling effect on revenue, the Leafs have had to make difficult cap management choices and they chose to get rid of Johnsson’s annual average value of $3.4 million.
The Leafs may have sold low on Johnsson, acquiring the 22year-old Anderson, who has played 53 career NHL games and split time between the Devils and the AHL last season. But Toronto’s cap space rose to $2.3 million after the trade, providing some relief after the headline-grabbing signings of forward Wayne Simmonds and defenceman T.J. Brodie on Friday.
“Andreas is a hard-working, competitive forward who can slot up and down the lineup,” Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said of Johnsson, who wound up with 30 goals and 37 assists in his 125 games in Toronto. “The overall versatility of his game will be a great complement to our centremen, with his skating, quickness, and scoring touch.”
Johnson’s skill took a back seat to a greater need in Toronto: Bogosian’s size and hitting power.
The 30-year-old, two weeks removed from a Stanley Cup win, brings a much-needed big body to the blue line, plus 644 games of NHL experience. He 53 career goals and 143 assists.
Toronto also signed former Washington Capitals forward Travis Boyd on Saturday, giving them some extra depth in the job hunt for bottom-six jobs, while learning that top-six forward Ilya Mikheyev has filed for arbitration.
The key over the first two days of free agency was a reshaping of the team’s compete level while ensuring the additions wouldn’t prevent the club from extending core players like Morgan Rielly over the next year or so.
For the moment, Toronto has 12 forwards under contract, including Simmonds, Boyd and Jason Spezza, who was signed for another year on Thursday. There’s plenty of character and veteran presence there but the makeup of the bottom six may yet see more changes.
Boyd, who is among the bottom six at the moment, has played all 85 of his NHL regular season games with Washington, which drafted him in the sixth round in 2011. He has eight goals and 31 points.
Mikheyev served notice of his intention to pursue arbitration, which runs from Oct. 20 to Nov. 8. He will likely seek a raise on a one year entry-level deal that paid him $925,000, including a $92,500 signing bonus.
Mikheyev had eight goals and 23 points in 39 games before suffering a devastating wrist injury in late December. He worked diligently in rehab and was able to return for the Leafs’ qualifying-round series against Columbus, but failed to register a point as the Leafs fell in five games to the Blue Jackets. Now a restricted free agent, Mikheyev’s arbitration case could be affected by the time he missed to injury.
Travis Dermott is the only other RFA the Leafs need to sign. Anderson is RFA-eligible but, under a clause in the CBA, he does not have to be qualified.