Johan Larsson (ice hockey, born 1992)

Johan Oskar Torgny Larsson (born 25 July 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward and team captain for Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He has previously played with the Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres, Arizona Coyotes and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Johan Larsson
Larsson with the Buffalo Sabres in 2016
Born (1992-07-25) 25 July 1992 (age 32)
Lau, Sweden
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
SHL team
Former teams
Brynäs IF
Minnesota Wild
Buffalo Sabres
Arizona Coyotes
Washington Capitals
National team  Sweden
NHL draft 56th overall, 2010
Minnesota Wild
Playing career 2010–present

Playing career

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Larsson was drafted in the second round, 56th overall, by the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The same year, Larsson was also drafted in the fifth round of the 2010 KHL Junior Draft, as 111th overall, by the Metallurg Novokuznetsk.

Larsson made his Elitserien debut on 16 September 2010 against Modo Hockey.[1] A week later, on September 23, against Djurgårdens IF, he recorded his first Elitserien point, being the second assist in a goal, tying the game 2–2.[2][3] His first Elitserien goal was scored on January 15, 2011, against goaltender Joacim Eriksson of Skellefteå AIK.[4]

On 1 October 2010, Larsson signed a two-year contract with Brynäs IF's elite team, which expired after the 2011–12 Elitserien season.[5] Larsson's seven goals and 15 assists in the first 29 games of the 2011–12 season led to a nomination for that season's Elitserien Rookie of the Year award.[6] He would then win the award.[7] With 9 points in 16 playoff games, his team went on to win the Swedish Championship that year.

 
Larsson in April 2013

On 18 May 2011, Larsson signed a three-year contract with the Minnesota Wild, but was loaned to Brynäs for the 2011–12 season.[8]

With the intention of pursuing his NHL career, Larsson relocated to North America, and was directly assigned to the Wild's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Houston Aeros, to begin the 2012–13 season due to the lockout. Larsson was recalled to the Wild during the shortened season as an injury replacement and made his NHL debut against the Detroit Red Wings on February 17, 2013.[9]

On 3 April 2013 at the trade deadline, Larsson was acquired by the Buffalo Sabres along with goaltender Matt Hackett, a first-round pick in 2013 (Nikita Zadorov) and a second-round pick in 2014 (Brycen Martin) from the Wild in exchange for Jason Pominville and a fourth-round pick in 2014.[10] Larsson played for the Sabres' AHL affiliate Rochester Americans at the 2013 Spengler Cup. [11]

Larsson has on several occasions participated in Sweden's national teams, including the junior teams as well as the senior team. In the 2010 World U18 Championships, Larsson and his Sweden were placed second after the United States, losing the final against them.

The Sabres re-signed Larsson in the summer before the 2017–18 season to a two-year, $1.475 million contract.[12] During the 2017–18 season, Larsson was suspended for two games on 2 February 2018 for cross checking Vincent Trocheck in a 4–2 loss to the Florida Panthers.[13]

On 12 July 2019, the Sabres re-signed Larsson to a one-year, $1.55 million contract extension.[14] In his eighth year within the Sabres organization in the 2019–20 season, Larsson recorded 6 goals and a career NHL high 18 points in 62 games before the season was paused and effectively ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 10 October 2020, as an unrestricted free agent from the Sabres, Larsson opted to sign a two-year, $2.8 million contract with the Arizona Coyotes.[15]

On 21 March 2022, the day of the NHL trade deadline, the Arizona Coyotes traded Larsson to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a third-round pick.[16] Larsson having been injured while traded by the Coyotes later returned to health and played out the remainder of the 2021–22 season with the Capitals, contributing with 6 points in 14 regular season games. He made his NHL playoff debut in the post-season, adding two assists through 6 games.

On 12 August 2022, Larsson as a free agent halted his NHL career in opting to return to his original Swedish club, Brynäs IF of the SHL, after signing a three-year, $930,000 contract.[17]

International play

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Larsson celebrates after winning the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship.
Medal record
Representing   Sweden
Ice hockey
World Championships
  2018 Denmark
World Junior Championships
  2012 Calgary
IIHF U18 Championships
  2010 Minsk

On 30 March 2011, Larsson made his senior national team debut in an exhibition game against Latvia which ended 4–1 in Sweden's favour.[18] In the 2012 World J20 Championships, he was the captain when Sweden won its first J20 gold medal since 1981, its second overall.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 Sudrets HC SWE.4 2 0 2 2 2
2006–07 Sudrets HC SWE.4 29 13 7 20 40
2007–08 Sudrets HC SWE.4 25 11 11 22 71
2008–09 Brynäs IF J18 4 3 1 4 27 3 0 3 3 2
2008–09 Brynäs IF J18 Allsv 7 3 3 6 49
2008–09 Brynäs IF J20 33 4 5 9 55 5 0 0 0 2
2009–10 Brynäs IF J18 1 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Brynäs IF J18 Allsv 3 1 1 2 2 4 4 4 8 6
2009–10 Brynäs IF J20 40 15 19 34 80 5 1 1 2 2
2010–11 Brynäs IF SEL 43 4 4 8 18 5 0 2 2 4
2011–12 Brynäs IF SEL 49 12 24 36 34 16 2 7 9 16
2012–13 Houston Aeros AHL 62 15 22 37 38
2012–13 Minnesota Wild NHL 1 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Rochester Americans AHL 7 1 3 4 2 3 0 3 3 6
2013–14 Buffalo Sabres NHL 28 0 4 4 19
2013–14 Rochester Americans AHL 51 15 26 41 75 5 1 2 3 4
2014–15 Rochester Americans AHL 44 15 25 40 38
2014–15 Buffalo Sabres NHL 39 6 10 16 12
2015–16 Buffalo Sabres NHL 74 10 7 17 27
2016–17 Buffalo Sabres NHL 36 6 5 11 20
2017–18 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 4 13 17 49
2018–19 Buffalo Sabres NHL 73 6 8 14 37
2019–20 Buffalo Sabres NHL 62 6 12 18 26
2020–21 Arizona Coyotes NHL 52 8 6 14 24
2021–22 Arizona Coyotes NHL 29 6 9 15 30
2021–22 Washington Capitals NHL 14 1 5 6 2 6 0 2 2 2
2022–23 Brynäs IF SHL 45 9 22 31 53
2023–24 Brynäs IF Allsv 44 17 23 40 49 13 2 6 8 4
SHL totals 137 25 50 75 105 21 2 9 11 20
NHL totals 488 53 79 132 246 6 0 2 2 2

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2010 Sweden U18   5 6 8 14 0
2011 Sweden WJC 4th 6 1 3 4 4
2012 Sweden WJC   6 0 6 6 0
2012 Sweden WC 6th 7 0 2 2 0
2018 Sweden WC   10 0 1 1 2
Junior totals 17 7 17 24 4
Senior totals 17 0 3 3 2

Awards and honours

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Award Year
IIHF World U18 Championships First Team All-Star[19] 2010

References

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  1. ^ "Hockeyligan game statistics for Brynäs IF – Modo Hockey". Hockeyligan.se. Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  2. ^ "Hockeyligan game statistics for Brynäs IF – Djurgårdens IF". Hockeyligan.se. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  3. ^ "Första poängen för Larsson" (in Swedish). Gotlands Tidningar. 2010-09-24. Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  4. ^ "Hockeyligan game statistics for Brynäs IF – Skellefteå AIK". Hockeyligan.se. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  5. ^ "A-lagskontrakt för Johan Larsson" (in Swedish). Brynäs IF. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2010-10-02.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Johan Larsson årets rookiekandidat" (in Swedish). Swedish Ice Hockey Association. 9 December 2011. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Johan Larsson är Årets Rookie 2011/2012" (in Swedish). Swedish Hockey League. 10 April 2012.
  8. ^ Forsgren, Björn (2011-05-19). "Brynästalangen får NHL-kontrakt". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2011-05-19.
  9. ^ "Wild own second period to down Red Wings". CBS Sports. 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  10. ^ "Pominville's departure signals overhaul for Sabres". National Hockey League. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  11. ^ Hockey Canada (2013). "ROCHESTER AMERICANS 2013 SPENGLER CUP". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Sabres re-sign forward Johan Larsson to two-year deal". sportsnet.ca. July 8, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  13. ^ "Sabres' Larsson suspended two games for cross-checking Panthers' Trocheck". sportsnet.ca. February 2, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  14. ^ "Sabres ink Larsson to one-year deal". Buffalo Sabres. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Coyotes sign Johan Larsson to two-year contract". Arizona Coyotes. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Capitals acquire Johan Larsson in trade with Coyotes". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  17. ^ "Welcome home Johan Larsson" (in Swedish). Brynäs IF. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  18. ^ Fridén, Carl-Henrik (2011-03-31). "Johan Larsson stabil i debuten". Helagotland.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  19. ^ "First Team All Star IIHF". Eliteprospects.com. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Winner of the SHL Rookie of the Year award
2012
Succeeded by