Former Capitals first-round pick Lucas Johansen is joining the Golden Knights organization on a one-year contract with AHL Henderson, per a team announcement.
Johansen, 27 next week, had remained in the Washington organization through last season. He was mainly a fixture with the team’s AHL club in Hershey, though, appearing in just nine NHL games after being selected 28th overall in the 2016 draft.
A career-high six of those NHL games came for Johansen in 2023-24. He recorded his second career NHL assist and added a +1 rating, four shots on goal, and seven blocks while averaging 14:16 per game. With so little NHL experience, he quickly met the requirements for Group VI unrestricted free agency and hit the open market a year ahead of schedule.
Johansen inked a professional tryout with the Predators in September, hoping to stick around the former stomping grounds of his older brother, Ryan Johansen. However, he was released from the NHL camp less than two weeks later and was subsequently let go from a brief tryout with their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.
He heads to Nevada to join the Silver Knights on a full-fledged contract for the rest of the season, not a PTO. The British Columbia native brings 257 games of AHL experience to Vegas’ feeder club, all of which came in a Hershey Bears sweater. The 6’2″ left-shot defenseman totaled 20 goals, 72 assists, and 92 points with a +11 rating and is coming off back-to-back Calder Cup championships.
In the NHL’s eyes, Johansen remains an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any club. However, Vegas is the most likely, given their front office displayed enough interest to bring him in on a minor-league deal. If an NHL team signed him to a two-way contract, he would need to clear waivers to return to the AHL.