The Penguins continued to bolster their options among the bottom-six forwards Friday as they signed forward Andreas Johnsson to a one-year contract worth $800,000.
His signing was announced approximately two hours after the team brought forward Vinnie Hinostorza into the mix on a one-year deal worth $775,000.
Johnsson, 28, split the 2022-23 season with the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks organizations but spent the bulk of the campaign at the American Hockey League level with the Devils’ affiliate, the Utica Comets.
In 13 NHL contests last season, the left-handed Johnsson recorded three assists while averaging 13:28 of ice time per contest.
With Utica, Johnsson, capable of playing either wing, posted 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists).
A native of Sweden, Johnsson just completed a four-year contract he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019 that carried a salary cap hit of $3.4 million. That contract was offered to Johnsson by former Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, who is now the Penguins’ president of hockey operations.
Johnsson’s best season as an NHLer came with the Maple Leafs and under Dubas. During the 2018-19 campaign, Johnsson scored 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) in 73 games and finished eighth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy, which recognizes the league’s top rookie.
A seventh-round draft pick of the Maple Leafs (No. 202 overall) in 2013, Johnsson has been in the NHL for parts of six seasons with the Maple Leafs, Devils and Sharks, appearing in 259 career games and scoring 116 points (48 goals, 68 assists).
With Friday’s signings of Hinostroza and Johnsson, the Penguins now have 46 NHL contracts for the 2023-24 season, four short of the NHL’s limit of 50 according to Cap Friendly.
