Arizona Coyotes Trade Center Johan Larsson

Johan Larsson Traded by Arizona Coyotes

Johan Larsson, 29 has been injured since January 29th and underwent a sports hernia surgery. He was expected back to practice on Monday, the 21st, but now he will be moving on to his new team Washington Capitals. Larsson had six goals, nine assists in 29 games with the Coyotes. He can play center or on the wing, which makes him a versatile player

He collected six goals,12 points in his last five games before his injury. The Coyotes are going through an extensive rebuild constructed by their general manager Bill Armstrong. Larsson will be an unrestricted free agent, and was on a $1.4 million AAV contract. He like many others on the roster were rumored to be moved. Thus far, as of this writing, Larsson is one of the choses players to be moving on.

Going Forward

The Coyotes were searching for more draft picks, and/or prospects to fortify their rebuild. Johan Larsson can provide depth for his new team. He is a rugged, defensive minded forward who will also sustain a forecheck well. This clears more cap space for the Coyotes who are also open to using that cap space to obtains additional assets from teams who are capped out.

A good example may be the team taking over Shea Weber‘s contract to allow them to get to the cap floor. They would be at the limit of three such contracts that they can take over.

Johan Larsson will be a good addition to the Capitals. Even with his nearly two months of inactivity, he can recover in plenty of time to help his new team succeed going forward.