Kent Johnson is still only 21 years old and will play in his third NHL season this year.
The former top-five overall pick in 2021 made his NHL debut towards the end of the 2021-22 season where he registered three assists in nine games.
In 2022-23, Johnson became just the third Blue Jackets rookie to score at least 40 points in a season, joining Pierre-Luc Dubois (48, 2017-18) and Zach Werenski (47, 2016-17). Overall, Johnson had 16 goals and 24 assists through 79 games and it looked like the young player was starting to arrive.
Last season under first-year coach Pascal Vincent, Johnson's season got off to a tough start when he was made a healthy scratch for the season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers.
He scored an assist in his season debut the next game out against the New York Rangers but only had three points (one goal, two assists) in October. He was benched after playing just 8:45 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 2 and was sent down to the Cleveland Monsters to regain his confidence and find his game.
After scoring 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 10 games for Cleveland, Johnson returned to the NHL on Dec. 1 against the Ottawa Senators.
The offense began to find him in the subsequent games, as he recorded his first three-point game- and two-goal game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had three multi-point games in a six-game span from Dec. 7 through Dec. 19 but only finished with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 42 games as his season ended prematurely due to a torn labrum at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 28 against the Rangers.
Johnson's Contract?
Johnson is one of three Blue Jackets restricted free agents who remain unsigned. Unlike Marchenko, neither Johnson nor Cole Sillinger are arbitration-eligible. Johnson is a 10.2(C) player and here's a reminder of what that means from an earlier article on the topic.
A player becomes a free agent when their contract expires on July 1 after the last League Year of their contract. A player who does not meet the UFA requirements or the Group 2 RFA requirements displayed in the table above, and has been issued a qualifying offer, is designated a 10.2(c) player. The player is only eligible to negotiate and sign a contract with the club that holds their signing rights. They are ineligible to negotiate a contract (offer sheet) with any other club. They are also ineligible for arbitration. If the player does not receive a qualifying offer by June 25th at 5:00pm ET, they immediately become a UFA.
According to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline, president and general manager Don Waddell is discussing contracts with both Sillinger and Johnson's agents.
Earlier this summer, our Dan Dukart floated the possibility of a bridge contact for Johnson.
Ready For Training Camp?
Johnson had surgery for a torn labrum in early March and the expected recovery timeline at that time was six months which puts him right at the start of training camp for the Blue Jackets.
Now whether or not he's good to go by the first day of camp, and assuming there are no setbacks, Columbus might opt to slowly break him in. Either way, Johnson should be good as new for the team's first game at the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 10.
INJURY UPDATE: F Kent Johnson underwent successful surgery to repair a torn labrum of his left shoulder on Thursday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Peter Millett in Vail, Colorado. Johnson is expected to make a full recovery in six months. #CBJ
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) March 8, 2024
The torn labrum has unfortunately been a common injury for the Blue Jackets in recent seasons as Gus Nyquist, Zach Werenski, and Justin Danforth have all dealt with it.
Assuming health, what can we expect out of Johnson, two seasons removed from a 40-point campaign?
Can Johnson Resolidify Himself?
After a tough year on the ice and now an injury to rehab, it feels like some might already be looking to turn the page on Johnson. He won't even be 22 years old until Oct. 18 and can still be the top-five talent the Blue Jackets drafted and saw the potential from in 2022-23.
It'll be interesting to see how he performs under his third NHL head coach and what linemates he might have.
Blue Jackets Insider Jeff Svoboda projected what the lines might look like this season, placing Johnson on the third one with Sillinger and Dmitri Voronkov.
As of today, the top six might be set when factoring in a potential first line of Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Yegor Chinakhov, and a second line consisting of Boone Jenner - Adam Fantilli - Kirill Marchenko. You can probably flip-flop some of those names among the top six but Johnson might have to earn his way back into that fixture.
