Former 20 goal scorer giving up on his NHL dream at just 28 years old
Players drafted in the seventh round always face an up hill battle to make it. Dallas Stars winger Joe Pavelski has the most games played by a player chosen in the seventh round, 1250 games played with 449 goals and 1001 points. What a pick by the San Jose Sharks in the 2003 NHL Draft.
It appears another seventh round pick is calling time on his NHL career and heading home to Sweden to play with Frolunda HC.
28 year old, Andreas Johnsson had a promising start to his NHL career. Johnsson came to North America during the 2015-2016 season, suiting up for the Toronto Marlies and played very well in his two seasons in the AHL. This earned him a cup of coffee with the Leafs during the 2017-2018 season where he impressed enough in 9 games to earn a full-time role the following season.
The 2018-2019 season would be the best of Johnsson's career. In 73 games he scored 20 goals and 43 points. Following his rookie season, Johnsson was signed to a four-year, $13.6MM contract in restricted free agency, which was heavily front-loaded with signing bonuses.
A serious knee injury limited Johnsson to just 43 games in 2019-2020. Before the 2020-2021 season began, Johnsson was traded to the New Jersey Devils to clear cap space.
Four seasons removed from the trade to New Jersey, Johnsson has struggled offensively and to stay in a regular NHL lineup.
Johnsson is 15th place in NHL history for most games played by a seventh round pick. It has been quite the hockey journey for the 202nd pick from the 2013 Draft. We wish Johnsson all the best as he returns to his hometown Frolunda HC to close out his pro career.
| POLL | ||
Which seventh round pick is your favorite from this list? | ||
| Patric H�rnqvist | 225 | 34.7 % |
| Ondrej Palat | 226 | 34.8 % |
| Mackenzie Weegar | 162 | 25 % |
| Andreas Johnsson | 36 | 5.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
