Ottawa Senators acquire goaltender in trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning

Johansson, 31, made his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres during the 2019-20 season and has appeared in 105 career games. He also spent time within the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers organizations before landing with Tampa Bay to start the 2023-24 campaign.

The trade comes after the Lightning brought in Dennis Hildeby to back up Andrei Vasilevskiy this season, a move that left Johansson without a clear path to games in Tampa Bay. Rather than let him depart for nothing, the Lightning found a trade partner in Ottawa.

Johansson served as a backup option in Tampa Bay's crease over the past three seasons. In 2025-26, he appeared in 25 games and finished with an 11-10-2 record, a 3.29 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage, numbers in line with his career output as a depth netminder.

The Swedish goaltender was originally selected by Buffalo in the third round, 61st overall, of the 2014 NHL Draft. He represented his country internationally as well, winning a silver medal at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship.

For the Senators, adding Johansson provides another experienced option in net as the organization works through its goaltending depth ahead of the 2026-27 season.

A player with over a hundred NHL appearances gives Ottawa insurance at a position that can shift quickly due to injury or performance.

Whether Johansson begins the season with the Senators' NHL roster or spends time with the club's American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville remains to be determined, but the move gives general manager Steve Staios another body between the pipes heading into camp.

Ottawa continues to shape its roster as the regular season approaches, and further moves in net or elsewhere on the roster would not be surprising in the coming days.

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