Old beefs & new roles: Marcus Johansson’s tenure with Bruins already off to eventful start

Marcus Johansson was quick to address the elephant in the room during his first meeting with the Boston media corps Tuesday.

The Bruins’ latest acquisition might be a new addition to Boston’s locker room, but the winger already has a bit of history with a few B’s skaters — namely Brad Marchand.

An elbow from Marchand put an end to Johansson’s regular season last January, with the then-Devils forward suffering his second concussion in two months after getting struck in the head during a backchecking attempt.

Marchand was suspended five games for the incident, while Johansson would only appear in three games for the Devils in 2017-18 — all in the postseason.

As expected, Johansson had a less-than-stellar opinion of Marchand in the months following his injury. But now, with their lockers just 10 feet apart in the same room, Johansson noted that he was putting an end to his beef with the pesky B’s winger.

“It’s water under the bridge,” Johansson said. “It’s hockey — it’s a tough game. He called me yesterday and we spoke for a bit and he apologized, which I think was great. I just said that that stuff happens a lot. It’s just fun to be here and it’s fun to be his teammate. I think he’s one of the best players in the league, so it’s fun to be on this side of it now.

“For me, it’s something that I put behind me. I’m happy that I’m playing hockey right now and I’ve heard great things about Marchy. He’s a great guy, a great teammate. I think he’s a hell of a hockey player. I’m excited to be a part of this.”

With pleasantries exchanged between Marchand and Johansson out of the way, the 28-year-old forward can focus on the primary task at hand — shoring up a Bruins forward corps that has sputtered at times throughout the season, especially at 5v5 play.



“Good skill. Decent size. Good playmaker,” Bruce Cassidy said of what Johansson can bring to the club. “Good power-play guy around the goal line. Speed. He’s been a good player in the league. He upgrades our forward group and we talked about the need for some secondary scoring. We’re seeing more if lately before the deadline. Hopefully, him and Charlie can add more after the deadline.”

With 10 of his 12 goals coming at even strength, Johansson should be a solid addition up front for a Bruins team that still ranks 26th in the league in 5v5 tallies, while his speed puts him in the upper tier of league-wide talent when it comes to zone entries and carrying the puck through center ice.

Already on a bit of a roll with 12 points in his last 13 games with New Jersey, Johansson will open his tenure with Boston on Tuesday in a top-six role, as he will slot in at right wing on a line with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk against the Sharks.

While Johansson has primarily played at left wing for most of this season, the skater is similar to Boston’s other acquisition in Charlie Coyle in that both can earn reps at just about any forward position for this Bruins team.

“No, not at all. I think I’ve played most positions in the league so far,” Johansson said of playing on his off wing. “I think that’s an easy adjustment. You just go out and play and playing with players like that — it’s easy to read off of each other as well. I just can’t wait to get out there.”

“He’s played the right side with (Alex) Ovechkin in Washington years ago,” Cassidy said. “More recently on the left side in Jersey, drafted as a center. He indicated that he was comfortable at any spot. He’s here and wants to help us win, excited to be here. It’s encouraging. … I’m sure we’ll see him move around different spots, see where the best fit is — but that’s where he starts.”

Having a pair of versatile players in Johansson and Coyle gives Cassidy the luxury of tinkering with his lineup both during practices and even in games situations — with both skaters capable of logging top-six minutes as needed with David Pastrnak still at least two weeks away from returning from thumb surgery.

When Pastrnak is back in the fold, Cassidy added that it’s certainly a possibility that Johansson could be pushed in a more regular role with Coyle at the pivot in the bottom six — giving Boston four viable lines for the first time in ... well,  all season.

“I like to see where they all fit best,” Cassidy said of examining his lineup with the additions of Coyle and Johansson. “I think a lot of the stuff, moving pieces around, the tinkering is a good term. It’s done earlier in the year just so you don’t miss something. I always thought in the American League, you could get away with it because you’re under less of a microscope. So we did it a lot there to find out, even moving positions.

"Like (Alexander) Khokhlachev, he was a center, we wanted to see if he would play wing in case he’d get called up. Here, it’s more noted, but I’m still going to do it, because I believe it’s the best way, unless you’re completely 100 percent sold on your group. …. Until that happens, we’re probably going to continue to do that. But going forward, we’ve got to be careful, because we’ve got to find out who has chemistry with Krech on the right side. Without Pasta being in the lineup, it makes it easier to move a piece around.”