Calle Johansson

Calle Johansson
Johansson in 2010
Born	(1967-02-14) 14 February 1967 Gothenburg, Sweden
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Buffalo Sabres Washington Capitals Toronto Maple Leafs
National team	Sweden
NHL draft	14th overall, 1985 Buffalo Sabres
Playing career	1983–2004

Carl Christian "Calle" Johansson (born 14 February 1967) is a Swedish former assistant coach with the Washington Capitals and former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1987 and 2004, most of it with the Capitals. He has worked as hockey colour commentator for Swedish Canal+ and worked as an assistant for six seasons for Frölunda HC in the Swedish Elitserien before returning to the Capitals organization.

Playing career

Johansson was drafted out of Sweden by the Buffalo Sabres, he was picked 14th overall by the Sabres in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. His first season, 1987–88, was a good one, as he compiled 38 assists and 42 points and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. However, the next season he was traded to the Washington Capitals along with a second round draft choice in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft for Clint Malarchuk, Grant Ledyard, and a sixth round draft pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.

Johansson prospered in Washington, as he became one of Washington's best defenceman over the next 15 seasons. Although he was behind the shadow of higher profile defencemen in Washington, such as Scott Stevens, Rod Langway, Kevin Hatcher, Al Iafrate and Sergei Gonchar, he was a solid contributor for the club. In the 1992–93 NHL season, Johansson was part of the defense core in Washington that set a new record for team defence scoring. Although Hatcher, Iafrate and Sylvain Côté all scored over 20 goals, Johansson helped get to the record with his seven goals.

Johansson was part of the Washington team that made their improbable run to the Stanley Cup finals in 1998, but the Capitals were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings.

Johansson retired after the 2002–03 NHL season, but the Toronto Maple Leafs persuaded him to come back and help their team in their playoff run the next season. However, the Leafs failed to win the Cup, and Johansson retired for good after the playoffs.

Television career

After retiring the second time around, Johansson continued to work as a colour commentator and did studio analysis during game intermissions on Swedish Canal+. He was doing both Elitserien and NHL games and was one of the two main colour commentators at Canal+, the other one being former Tre Kronor coach Anders "Ankan" Parmström. Canal+ lost the Swedish broadcasting rights for NHL to the Viasat Group ahead of the 2009–2010 season. Together with former Canal+ commentator Niklas Holmgren, with whom Calle has developed a great chemistry when commentating, they subsequently signed for Viasat where they now continue in the same manner as when at Canal+.

Coaching career

Johansson served as an assistant coach with Frolunda of the Swedish Elite League in 2006–07. On 18 July 2012 Johansson was named an assistant coach to the Washington Capitals, joining former Capitals teammate Adam Oates behind the bench. Two seasons later, on 23 June 2014 the Capitals announced that Johansson was leaving the team to rejoin his family in Sweden.

Awards

• Swedish Champion with IF Björklöven in 1987.
• Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1988.
• Gold medal at the 1991 and 1992 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.
• Named to the World Cup of Hockey All-Star Team in 1996.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1981–82	KBA-67	SWE III		27	3	3	6	—		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	KBA-67	SWE III		29	12	11	23	—		—	—	—	—	—
1983–84	Västra Frölunda IF	SEL		28	4	4	8	10		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Västra Frölunda IF	SWE II		41	14	14	28	50		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	IF Björklöven	SEL		17	1	2	3	14		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	IF Björklöven	SEL		30	2	13	15	20		6	1	3	4	6
1987–88	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		71	4	38	42	37		6	0	1	1	0
1988–89	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		47	2	11	13	33		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Washington Capitals	NHL		12	1	7	8	4		6	1	2	3	0
1989–90	Washington Capitals	NHL		70	8	31	39	25		15	1	6	7	4
1990–91	Washington Capitals	NHL		81	11	41	52	23		10	2	7	9	8
1991–92	Washington Capitals	NHL		80	14	42	56	49		7	0	5	5	4
1992–93	Washington Capitals	NHL		77	7	38	45	56		6	0	5	5	4
1993–94	Washington Capitals	NHL		84	9	33	42	59		6	1	3	4	4
1994–95	EHC Kloten	NDA		5	1	2	3	8		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Washington Capitals	NHL		46	5	26	31	35		7	3	1	4	0
1995–96	Washington Capitals	NHL		78	10	25	35	50		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Washington Capitals	NHL		65	6	11	17	16		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Washington Capitals	NHL		73	15	20	35	30		21	2	8	10	16
1998–99	Washington Capitals	NHL		67	8	21	29	22		—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Washington Capitals	NHL		82	7	25	32	24		5	1	2	3	0
2000–01	Washington Capitals	NHL		76	7	29	36	26		6	1	2	3	2
2001–02	Washington Capitals	NHL		11	2	0	2	8		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Washington Capitals	NHL		82	3	12	15	22		6	0	1	1	0
2003–04	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		8	0	6	6	0		4	0	0	0	2
SEL totals				75	7	19	26	44		6	1	3	4	6
NHL totals				1,110	119	416	535	519		105	12	43	55	44

International

Calle Johansson

Medal record
Representing Sweden
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
	1991 Finland	Ice hockey
	1992 Czech Republic	Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	1987	Ice hockey

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1984	Sweden	EJC		5	2	3	5	6
1985	Sweden	EJC		5	4	0	4	4
1986	Sweden	WJC		7	1	1	2	6
1987	Sweden	WJC		6	0	8	8	6
1991	Sweden	WC		4	1	1	2	6
1991	Sweden	CC		6	1	2	3	0
1992	Sweden	WC		5	0	0	0	4
1996	Sweden	WCH		4	1	5	6	8
1998	Sweden	OG		4	0	0	0	2
Junior totals				23	7	12	19	22
Senior totals				23	3	8	11	20

See also

• NHL All-Rookie Team
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com