Earlier this week, Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson's trade request officially became public. Our staff gives their reactions to the news in this edition of the 1st Ohio Battery Roundtable.
What’s your initial reaction to the news?
Sam Blazer: This request actually doesn’t surprise me at all. Every part of it makes sense. He needs money, he needs playing time and both of those weren’t things he was going to get in excess with the Blue Jackets.
Kyle Morrison: I, for one, can’t wait to see Connor McDavid in a Blue Jackets jersey. Kidding aside, this is a bit of a shocker to me. Not the request itself, not the potential for a Jack Johnson trade, but the fact that it became public in the first place. Columbus needs a forward, they have an excess of left-handed defensemen, Jack’s on an expiring contract and has solid value in certain hockey circles. Always assumed he’d be moved this year. The surprising part to me is that Jack – an alternate captain, a team leader, a guy who embraced this city – would publicly request a deal and take away Jarmo’s leverage.
Dan Dukart: The timing on this isn’t ideal, but it makes sense. Johnson is on an expiring contract and has seen his role diminish as the year has gone on. This isn’t the Jack Johnson from 2016-17 that, with David Savard, gave the Blue Jackets a legitimate shutdown pair. He’s really struggled this season and in doing so has hurt the dollar value on his next contract. A change of scenery with a new team could help bring his value up.
Rob Mixer: It doesn’t come as a surprise, but it is kind of odd. Aaron Portzline’s report mentioned that the Blue Jackets and Johnson’s agent haven’t had substantive dialogue on an extension in months, and given his pending UFA status, I would think Johnson could assume the most likely outcome. Requesting a trade seems unnecessary because the Blue Jackets, as asset managers, will probably be trading him anyway.
What does an ideal trade look like?
SB: An ideal trade nets a scoring forward somewhere in the middle six of a contender. It would likely need to be a matching expiring contract. Possibly a pick with conditions if he re-signs with the team he is traded to. Finding the GM that is still in love with the thought of Jack Johnson is the real key to any good trade.
RM: It’s gotta be a forward – I think we’re all in agreement here. Pierre LeBrun mentioned a forward in a contract year as a potential fit in a deal, and to me, that makes the most sense for the Blue Jackets. They’re not likely to get any future assets in a deal for Johnson, so in the short term, it’s sensible to add a piece that can help down the stretch.
KM: Agreed with Sam here. The Jackets need a forward. They *desperately* need secondary scoring. What sort of value they’d get for Jack – perhaps now diminished due to the trade request – remains to be seen. A middle-six forward would be a great addition, but it might be easier to wrangle two lower-end players instead. Say, a solid bottom-six forward and a bottom-pairing right-shot defenseman for Jack and a late pick?
DD: Echo. They need a forward who can put the puck in the net. It’s so hard to speculate on trades, but I think about a player like Thomas Vanek who’s also on an expiring contract that can produce offense up and down the lineup. Both teams throw in conditional picks based on re-signing and/or how far the Blue Jackets make it this spring.
What’s your best memory of Jack Johnson’s time in Columbus?
KM: To me, one moment really stands out. November 21, 2014. A season where Jack had been struggling, where the full extent of his parents’ malfeasance came to light, where the team – coming off of a playoff appearance – was riddled with injuries, downtrodden and disappointed. November was a month where nothing went right for Jack or his team. The Dispatch exposé on Jack’s parents came out on November 20th. The next night, the Jackets played the Bruins at Nationwide Arena. Jack Johnson had one beautiful, cathartic moment that will always stick with me.
A late, game-tying goal. Nick Foligno leaping towards his teammate and friend. And – not appearing on the video – a huge ovation for Jack, full of emotion on the bench. Sure, the Jackets went on to lose in a shootout, but Jack Johnson – during one of the toughest weeks of his life – came through for his team.
SB: When I think of Johnson, I’ll always think of this goal.
He always rose to the occasion against the Penguins and that is not any easy memory to forget when so many have folded against them.
DD: It’s not exactly a specific memory, but I will always remember his attitude when he was traded to Columbus. Jeff Carter wanted nothing to do with the Blue Jackets, and it was really a rock-bottom time in the history of this franchise. They were last in the NHL in points, and it wasn’t even close. Johnson was the first step in the right direction. Later that year, the team acquired Sergei Bobrovsky and traded away Rick Nash, but Johnson was the first “new” building block piece that the franchise could hang their hat on and feel good about.
RM: I’ll never forget, sitting in the press box of PPG Paints Arena in April 2014, as the Blue Jackets wiped out a 3-0 deficit to force overtime and eventually even the series against the Penguins. The tying goal in Game 2, scored late in regulation on the power play, was slammed home by Johnson – arguably the best player in the series – after the Blue Jackets poured it on in the third period.
What happens to the “A” on Jack’s sweater now?
KM: Stripping it would add another layer to this drama, but it’s the right thing to do. It’s a question of who gets it, not of whether or not Jack keeps it. Do they give it back to Brandon Dubinsky? I don’t think so. Seth Jones could be the guy. Nick Foligno’s great, but he’s not a star, and Boone Jenner’s had a down year. Seth Jones is a star and, for my money, the Jackets’ best player by no small margin.
SB: You strip it off of him if you have every intention of trading him. Take the bandaid off as quickly as possible. If you don’t, keep him around and start grooming the next generation of leaders, Seth Jones is a name that comes to mind and should be the next player to fill the role.
DD: Nothing, at least for the moment. But if it were my decision, I’d give it to Seth Jones the minute he’s traded. Jones should be the next captain of this team, and I don’t think it’s even close at this moment. If Johnson isn’t traded, he’ll still be gone on July 1, so Jones will (should) have an “A” on his jersey next season regardless.
RM: I’d keep it for now. He’s still on the team, still has a job to do, and not much will change between he and his teammates. They know the situation and have been through it before with other players. If it was removed now, it’d be more of a distraction than anything else.
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