There isn't much debate about who will be the top six forwards for the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the 2023-24 season. It is primarily the same group that dragged the Penguins within one point of a playoff spot last season, except for Reilly Smith supplanting Jason Zucker.
But one issue with the Penguins' top six, particularly at the right and left-wing, was that they were relatively unchecked throughout the season. The team didn't have a depth of talent to push the top lines. Enter Andreas Johnsson.
Johnsson experienced a professional low-point last season, losing a roster spot on a young New Jersey Devils team and being sent down to the AHL for the first time since he broke into the league during the 2017-18 season. New Jersey traded Johnsson to the San Jose Sharks as part of the deal that sent Timo Meier to New Jersey, playing 11 games for the Sharks at the end of the season.
Over the weekend, the Penguins inked Johnsson, a former Toronto Maple Leaf under Kyle Dubas, to a one-year contract worth $800k this season. The signing of Johnsson is a win-win for the Penguins.
The 28-year-old winger will enter Penguins training camp hoping to earn a roster spot to begin the season. He'll compete with players like Mikael Granlund, Alex Nylander, and Valtteri Puustinen as he tries to recapture the potential he showed with the Leafs at the outset of his career.
While Johnsson doesn't project to fight for a spot in the Penguins' top-six during training camp, his speed and a return to the offensive player that he was a few years ago could eventually help push someone like Bryan Rust to the third line to spread out the Penguins scoring.
If he can recapture that offensive upside, Johnsson could become a Swiss army knife in the middle-six for head coach Mike Sullivan. However, if Johnsson continues his decline, the Penguins have little invested in him and would likely be able to offload his contract and roster spot mid-season.
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