A day after a report surfaced that hot shot prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov would – as previously planned – remain in Russia another year, the Capitals added another prospect to the cupboard.
The Caps signed Swedish forward Mattias Sjogren, the team confirmed Wednesday morning. He’s an aggressive, physical player, according to scouting reports but also has a scoring touch. The 6-foot-1, 201-pound Sjogren, 23, had seven goals and 17 assists in 51 games for Farjestads BK Karlstad of the Swedish Elite League last season.
The signing was first reported by two Swedish newspapers, which said the deal was worth the maximum for NHL rookies - $1.8 million.
Sjogren’s agent, Claude Lemieux, told one of the papers (translated here into English): “Theythinkhecanplayin theNHL.Buthemustearnthe spot.”
It could be another diamond in the rough find for general manager George McPhee – and possibly a result of Marcus Johansson’s excellent rookie season. Johansson finished the regular season with 13 goals and 14 assists.
“I thought Marcus Johansson was really good and bring a dimension to the team that we need. He brings great speed,” McPhee said last month. “He’s really good defensively and a lot of kids don’t have that early in their careers and I expect his offensive game to continue to blossom so I think there’s lots to look forward to there.”
