With both the Vancouver and Abbotsford Canucks’ 2023–24 seasons officially in the books, the focus now shifts to the off-season and managing their list of pending free agents.
And down in the farm, that list is plentiful, particularly on the backend.
However, they can now cross one pending RFA off their list, as Filip Johansson has returned to Sweden.
On Friday, it was announced that the 24-year-old defenceman signed a two-year deal with Rögle in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Sportchef Hampus Sjöström ligger inte på latsidan, inte! Han gav oss ännu en värvning att ge er denna eftermiddag! 
Vi välkomnar backen Filip Johansson till klubben ✅<a href="https://t.co/gwqjZWey7L">https://t.co/gwqjZWey7L</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/roglebk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#roglebk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/f%C3%B6rv%C3%A5rtrbk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#förvårtrbk</a> <a href="https://t.co/AC29W8Prjq">pic.twitter.com/AC29W8Prjq</a>
&mdash; Rögle BK (@roglebk) <a href="https://twitter.com/roglebk/status/1791099602202157261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I&#8217;m really looking forward to it. I&#8217;ve been in contact with Hampus (Sjöström) for a while now, and I&#8217;m really excited,&#8221; Johansson told Rögle media. &#8220;It&#8217;s a good place to continue to develop and a good team that fights to win.&#8221;
The former Minnesota Wild first-round pick will return to his home country after just one season in North America, where he was a key all-situational defender for Abbotsford. 
He recorded five goals and 18 points through 55 games, with an additional assist in six postseason games this spring.
As an RFA, Johansson can still be offered a contract in June, allowing the Canucks to retain his rights, should they be interested.
However, with names like Cole McWard (RFA), Jett Woo (RFA), Mark Friedman (UFA) and Noah Juulsen all contending for spots on the right side, he’s likely taken a good look at where he sits on the pecking order and is looking for a chance to secure a more prominent role.
Before crossing to North America, Johansson spent four seasons in the SHL, split between Leksands and Frölunda. He contributed 16 goals and 47 points across 183 matches.
Rögle, where Nils Höglander played out his three-year SHL career, recently reached the SHL finals, eventually losing to Skellefteå, Linus Karlsson&#8217;s former team, in five games.
Johansson joins as one of just two right-handed defencemen on the current roster.
<a href="https://www.douglas.ca/canucksarmy"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-124156" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/DB-NationNetwork-727x404-EN.jpg" alt="" width="727" height="404" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/DB-NationNetwork-727x404-EN.jpg 727w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/DB-NationNetwork-727x404-EN-300x167.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" /></a>
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With both the Vancouver and Abbotsford Canucks’ 2023–24 seasons officially in the books, the focus now shifts to the off-season and managing their list of pending free agents.

And down in the farm, that list is plentiful, particularly on the backend.

However, they can now cross one pending RFA off their list, as Filip Johansson has returned to Sweden.

On Friday, it was announced that the 24-year-old defenceman signed a two-year deal with Rögle in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

https://twitter.com/roglebk/status/1791099602202157261

"I'm really looking forward to it. I've been in contact with Hampus (Sjöström) for a while now, and I'm really excited," Johansson told Rögle media. "It's a good place to continue to develop and a good team that fights to win."

The former Minnesota Wild first-round pick will return to his home country after just one season in North America, where he was a key all-situational defender for Abbotsford. 

He recorded five goals and 18 points through 55 games, with an additional assist in six postseason games this spring.

As an RFA, Johansson can still be offered a contract in June, allowing the Canucks to retain his rights, should they be interested.

However, with names like Cole McWard (RFA), Jett Woo (RFA), Mark Friedman (UFA) and Noah Juulsen all contending for spots on the right side, he’s likely taken a good look at where he sits on the pecking order and is looking for a chance to secure a more prominent role.

Before crossing to North America, Johansson spent four seasons in the SHL, split between Leksands and Frölunda. He contributed 16 goals and 47 points across 183 matches.

Rögle, where Nils Höglander played out his three-year SHL career, recently reached the SHL finals, eventually losing to Skellefteå, Linus Karlsson's former team, in five games.

Johansson joins as one of just two right-handed defencemen on the current roster.

<a href="https://www.douglas.ca/canucksarmy"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-124156" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/DB-NationNetwork-727x404-EN.jpg" alt="" width="727" height="404" /></a>
<div>
<div>Canucks Army fans! Upgrade your sleep with Canada's Best Mattress. Get a FREE Comfort Sleep Bundle - Pillows, sheets, and mattress protector, when you order a Douglas today. Don't wait – start your 365-night sleep trial by visiting <a href="https://www.douglas.ca/canucksarmy">Douglas.ca/CanucksArmy</a> today!</div>
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