Last weekend, Washington Capitals General Manager George McPhee said that the first of two new assistant coaches would likely be announced this week. When that was brought up to head coach Adam Oates, he inadvertently revealed a clue.
“To have a guy that played in the game that I’ve had some personal time with is very important to me,” Oates said Saturday.
Wednesday, Oates' premonition came to fruition.
The Caps have hired one of Oates' former teammates, Calle Johansson, as an assistant coach.
Johansson, who played in Washington from 1989 to 2003, will join the team after spending most of his post-retirement years (he officially retired after the 2003-04 season) as a color commentator for the NHL and Swedish Elite League (SEL) on Swedish television. His only prior coaching experience came in 2006-07, when he was an assistant coach for Frolunda of the SEL.
The 45-year-old is a veteran of 1,109 career NHL games, 983 of which came with Washington, which is a franchise record. One could assume that the former defenseman will likely work with the current defensemen behind the bench.
Johansson will address the media this afternoon.
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