Andreas Johnsson was traded to the New Jersey Devils by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday for restricted free agent forward Joey Anderson.
Johnsson, a 25-year-old forward, has three seasons remaining on a four-year, $13.6 million contract ($3.4 million average annual value) he signed with Toronto on June 28, 2019. He scored 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 43 regular-season games and had no points in one postseason game.
"He's got a nose for the net. He gets to the inside. He is small in stature (5-foot-10, 194 pounds), but he's stocky and he's heavy on pucks," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said Sunday. "He's a worker. He's a dog on a bone with skill, a guy who could really look good next to either Jack [Hughes] or Nico [Hischier]. That's the fun part. We don't go out in free agency and look, 'OK, this guy is going to be perfect for him,' or, 'He's going to be perfect for him.' We've got the luxury of two really skilled centermen. Wherever he lines up, it will be a complement to either center."
Johnsson said he knew there was a chance he'd be traded and was happy to land with the Devils, who acquired defenseman Ryan Murray from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday and signed goalie Corey Crawford to a two-year contract Friday.
"I thought right away, young team, great skill there, so I'm excited to come there and meet the players and play," Johnsson said. "I don't know too much about the team other than playing against them and that they have skilled guys with speed. Like Toronto, they have young guys coming up in the League. They have a chance to grow as a team and play really good. They signed some guys, too, and they are building something here; there's really good young players and older players, so I'm excited.
"I thought I would be in Toronto for a longer time, but it's hockey and it's the business and the way it could be. I think I was prepared it could happen, so I wasn't too shocked."
Selected by Toronto in the seventh round (No. 202) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Johnsson has scored 67 points (30 goals, 37 assists) in 125 regular-season games and six points (two goals, four assists) in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"He's played with [Auston] Matthews, he's played with [John] Tavares, he's played with [Mitchell] Marner," Fitzgerald said, referring to some of the Maple Leafs' top forwards. "He's played with high-end talent. He's a complementary top-six winger."
Anderson was selected by the Devils in the third round (No. 73) of the 2016 NHL Draft. The 22-year-old has scored 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 52 NHL games, including six (four goals, two assists) in 18 games last season, the last of a three-year, entry-level contract he signed April 15, 2018.
"I definitely wasn't expecting this, but I'm excited to get started with Toronto," Anderson said Sunday. "I think I'm a strong two-way player. I have a pretty good focus on the defensive game and I'm focused on details and making sure I'm doing little things correctly. I'm not going to be flashy with the puck or do things like that. I'm going to make the play that's in front of me and try to just chip in any way that I'm needed."
Fitzgerald said the trade for Johnsson, along with the additions of Crawford and Murray, will help the Devils this season and also prevent them from having to rush some of their younger players along.
"I think these moves help us stay competitive whether it's a one-year with Ryan Murray, a two-year with Crawford or three years with Johnsson," Fitzgerald said. "It just continues to helps us to be competitive and allow the young players in our organization to develop at their pace instead of plugging them and maybe throwing a life jacket at them."
NHL.com staff writers Tom Gulitti and Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report
