Washington Capitals acquire Johan Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes

The Washington Capitals have acquired Johan Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes for a third-round pick.

Larsson ranked 23rd on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Target list as of this morning. The center is in the second year of a two year deal with a $1.4-million cap hit. The Coyotes have retained 50 percent of his salary.

Larsson is an underrated shutdown center in the NHL, doing it for seven seasons with the Buffalo Sabres before joining the Coyotes in 2020, and still excelling. He spent a lot of time in Arizona’s top six this season, mostly with Lawson Crouse and Phil Kessel. Larsson only has a 46.46% CF% and 48.85% xGF% at even strength this season, but it ranked third and second on his team, respectively. Relative to his teammates, he’s +4.79% in CF% and +6% in xGF%.

He has had a bit of an offensive touch this season as well, with six goals and 15 points in just 29 games. That’s only three less than his career high of 18, which was in 62 games.

Larsson joins a Capitals team that has struggled for most of the season after a hot start but has managed to maintain a playoff spot with a 35-19-10 record. They’ve been unable to move up out of that second wildcard spot but are still 13 points ahead of the ninth-place team in the Columbus Blue Jackets, so a playoff spot still seems safe for the Caps.