Washington Capitals prospect defenseman Lucas Johansen has overcome adversity time and time again over the course of his professional career, and he suffered yet another undeserved setback with the Hershey Bears in the Eastern Conference Final of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Competing for his second consecutive Calder Cup, Johansen was hit and went down awkwardly into the boards in Game 2 against the Cleveland Monsters.
Head coach Todd Nelson told reporters that the injury would hold him out for "a while" and also called it "very unfortunate," via Bears Hockey Nation.
Johansen, Washington's first-round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft, has been a member of the Capitals organization for the entirety of his career.
The promise and upside have been there and earned him a handful of NHL opportunities, including a roster spot to open this past season. However, he's dealt with multiple injuries and setbacks over his still-young journey, and the latest is one that'll keep him off the ice for likely the remainder of the postseason.
The 26-year-old is a hard-working, talented young defenseman who has good puck control and skating ability. In 22 AHL games this past season, he had two goals and 10 assists and a plus/minus rating of plus-18, and in six NHL appearances, he had one assist and a plus/minus rating of plus-1. He also played in two Stanley Cup Playoff games for D.C., and before going down with an injury in Hershey's ECF, he had five assists in nine Calder Cup Playoff outings.
Johansen will be a group 6 unrestricted free agent come July 1, unless Washington chooses to re-sign him. His last contract was a two-year contract that became a one-way deal this past year.
Though it hasn't worked out as planned for the left-hand shot so far in his career for D.C., Johansen still holds upside and value for the organization. Washington will have flexibility and several questions to answer this offseason, and one will be how to handle the promising defenseman going forward.
He has the ability to be a difference-maker on the ice; it's just a matter of him staying healthy and staying consistent, and that hasn't been easy for him to prove just yet.
Johansen still has to show that he can be a full-time NHL defenseman, and perhaps signing elsewhere could bring him more opportunity. An AHL contract is also a possibility, but ultimately, D.C. taking another chance on the rising defenseman would have more benefits than consequences.
At the end of the day, the left-hand shot is no stranger to overcoming adversity and has shown perseverance and resiliency, and his work ethic and his upside are important assets for an organization to have. That said, D.C. taking another chance on the rising defenseman wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea, but he needs to show he can stay healthy and contribute on a nightly basis at the highest level.
