NHL teams always strive to find gems in the later rounds of the draft. The Toronto Maple Leafs hope they did just that after selecting Johnsson, a forward from Gavle, Sweden, in the seventh round (No. 202) of the 2013 NHL Draft.

Toronto chose Johnsson after he made his Swedish Hockey League debut by playing seven games for Frolunda in 2012-13. He became a regular for Frolunda in 2013-14, scoring 15, 22 and 19 goals in the next three seasons before coming to North America and joining Toronto of the American Hockey League in time for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Johnsson became an AHL regular in 2016-17, scoring 20 goals and playing in the AHL All-Star Game. He was even better in 2017-18, scoring 26 goals in 54 games before getting a late-season call-up from the Maple Leafs. Johnsson made his NHL debut on March 14, 2017, and scored his first NHL goal three nights later against the Montreal Canadiens. He played the remainder of the regular season with the Maple Leafs and had a goal and assist in six games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, then was returned to the AHL after the Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Boston Bruins. Johnsson led all players with 24 points in 16 playoff games, helping Toronto win the Calder Cup and winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP.

After making the Maple Leafs at training camp in the fall of 2018, Johnsson settled in as a middle-six forward, finishing his rookie season with 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) in 73 games. He had his first NHL hat trick on Nov. 24, 2018, when he scored three goals in a 6-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Maple Leafs signed Johnsson to a four-year contract on June 28, 2019. He had 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 43 games before a knee injury in February required season-ending surgery.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• AHL Second All-Star Team (2018)
• Jack A. Butterfield Trophy (AHL - Playoff MVP) (2018)
• Traded to New Jersey by Toronto for Joey Anderson, October 10, 2020.