Peg Albert Johansson's future with the Detroit Red Wings on the third pairing once Axel Sandin-Pellikka's up and ready to rock. But this season, he should factor in on the second pairing and provide a physical, stay-at-home presence for the Wings while averaging between 18 and 20 minutes per game.
While I'm not expecting Johansson's points production to increase, I'm looking for even more physical play this year after he landed 70 body checks and 83 blocks across 61 games and 16:22 of average total ice time.
When the Red Wings need someone to come up big defensively, they'll count on Johansson to make it happen. His role should also expand more into the penalty kill after he posted about 25 and a half short-handed minutes last season as the Red Wings will try and end their woes at 4-on-5.
This don't mean Johansson's the answer, especially since he was on the ice for four short-handed goals and saw an on-ice save percentage of just 82.6. But like I implied earlier, Johansson's got one season under him now, so expect better overall play regardless of the situation.
Albert Johansson's even strength numbers were encouraging in 2024-25
Nobody's gonna cheer over nine points and three goals across 61 games. But Johansson's advanced numbers look promising for a younger player. An on-ice save percentage of 90.2 at even strength isn't an outstanding number, but it's not bad for a first-year player.
Further, Johansson's Corsi For of 48.0 percent is something that indicates he can be a solid contributor in the offensive zone, even if those numbers don't light up the stat sheet with a primary or secondary assist.
Even if we don't see a ton of improvement from Year 1 to Year 2, we need to remember Johansson's just there in a "hold the fort down" role with Sandin-Pellikka rising through the ranks. Once Sandin-Pellikka's in Detroit, likely starting in 2026-27, it wouldn't surprise me if we saw him on the first pairing, Simon Edvinsson and an incoming blueliner on the second, while Johansson drops to the third.
This would put Johansson in a role he's best suited for, allowing him to break up plays with his brewing physical nature, or getting in front of shots and stalling them before they reach the net. Overall, should he improve this season to the point he's making a strong impact game in and game out, I might have enough faith to say he could find a permanent role on the second pairing.