Canucks have potentially made a steal right under the Wild's nose and the upside is huge

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Felip Gosselin
March 7, 2023 (10:42)

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The Canucks' new management group has only been with the club for a little over a year. Only a year in, it's hard to tell whether they've been coming out on top in every deal or signing they've made.

Though there are some moves in which Allvin and Rutherford have clearly looked like geniuses, Andrei Kuzmenko is a pretty decent example, since he's been a legitimate top-six forward since entering the league.

In June last year, the management group inked a young right-handed defenceman since they most likely knew they had issues on that side. They inked Nils Aman right around that time too, but they also came to agree on terms with a young Filip Johansson, a long-time friend, and teammate of Nils Aman.

Johansson is a former Minnesota Wild first-round selection all the way back in 2018 when they picked him 24th overall, but the Swede never made his way across the Atlantic. He's a 6'1'' and 176-pound defenceman that displays a booming shot and great offensive upside. Here's how current teammates and former NHLer, not confirmed, but most likely Loui Eriksson describes the latter:

"He's a bit of a late bloomer. He's a good two-way guy with a good shot & good offensive potential. Pretty strong kid but not overly physical."

This year, he has 20 points in 49 games which leads all defenceman on his team, Frolunda HC:

Johansson is a wild card but surely has a lot of upsides, for once the Canucks may have taken advantage of another team's failure. Johansson is under an entry-level contract and could potentially be cracking the Canucks' line-up as soon as next season.