A comeback to the NHL for former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Andreas Johnsson was cut short on Wednesday. The Pittsburgh Penguins, led by former Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, announced on Wednesday that they placed Johnsson on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. According to Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey, he played in one preseason game but had left the team to attend to a personal matter.
The Gavle, Sweden native originally signed a one-year contract with the Penguins on July 7 worth $800,000. He spent much of last season in the AHL with the Utica Comets, farm team of the New Jersey Devils, where he tallied 30 points in 36 games. He appeared in a combined 13 NHL games last season, two with the Devils and 11 with the Sharks, managing only three assists.
Johnsson, 28, was originally a seventh-round draft pick of the Maple Leafs back in 2013. He made his debut for the team in 2017-18 and reached career highs in both goals (20) and assists (23) in 2018-19, finishing the season with 43 points in 73 games. He was traded to the Devils following the 2019-20 season in exchange for Joey Anderson, who would eventually be moved in the deal to acquire defenceman Jake McCabe.
Known by fans as “Mango” during his time as a Leaf, Johnsson tallied 67 total points through 125 games as a Leaf, with six points in 14 playoff games.
Subsequently, it’s expected that Johnsson will sign a three-year contract with Skelleftea AIK of the SHL according to news outlets in Sweden. Johnsson’s NHL career (to date) ends with 116 career points in 259 games.
