Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson has signed to return to Sweden and play for Färjestad, ending his future with the NHL club after a resurgent 2025-26 season. The move comes as the Wild’s season ended in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with
The Minnesota Wild’s season ended in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with a loss to the Colorado Avalanche. For Marcus Johansson, though, the sharper pain comes after the final horn: the next chapter will not be in Minnesota.
Johansson—pending an unrestricted free agent situation with the Wild—has signed a contract to return to Sweden and play for Färjestad, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic.
That decision closes a long NHL stretch that began with a 2009 NHL Draft moment. Johansson was selected 24th overall by the Washington Capitals. He broke into the league with the Capitals in 2010-11 and stayed there through 2016-17. before his career moved through several more stops: time with the New Jersey Devils. the Boston Bruins. the Buffalo Sabres. the Minnesota Wild. and the Seattle Kraken.
His second run with the Capitals ended during the 2022-23 campaign, when he was traded back to the Minnesota Wild. Since then, he has been one of the veterans that Minnesota leaned on during the churn of a franchise season. And in 2025-26, he delivered a season that made him hard to ignore—scoring 15 goals and adding 34 assists for 49 points. It was his most productive single season since 2016-17 in his first stint with Washington. and it represented the second-highest point total of his NHL career.
Now, Johansson is heading back to the country where his hockey story started. Before he joined the NHL, he played for Färjestad in their youth system, then moved up to the top club in 2008-09. In total, he played 87 games with Färjestad at the club level, scoring 15 goals and 15 assists.
The Wild are not done navigating departures after their playoff exit. Mats Zuccarello recently declared he was not going to retire. Johansson’s move won’t contradict that point—he’s not retiring either—but it does make his future feel smaller and more contained: Sweden. and Färjestad. instead of Minnesota.
Marcus Johansson Minnesota Wild Färjestad Sweden NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Colorado Avalanche Mats Zuccarello Michael Russo