Jack Johnson's back.
The Columbus Blue Jackets signed the 37-year-old defenseman for the NHL league minimum of $775,000 last Wednesday. Even after his Blue Jackets playing days ended, Johnson has continued living in Columbus.
"This is my hometown," Johnson told The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "This city means a lot to me. This is where I'm raising my family. This is where my wife's family is, too. It's special, for sure."
An NHL veteran for 18 seasons and 1,187 games, Johnson has spent most of his career with the Blue Jackets, whom he played for seven seasons from 2011-18. Johnson started his career with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006-07 and played six seasons in L.A. before the trade to Columbus with Jeff Carter going out west.
Following his stint with the Blue Jackets, Johnson spent two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2018-20, ruffling Blue Jackets' fans' feathers on his way out of Columbus with comments about his excitement to join Pittsburgh's winning culture, albeit who could blame him for being excited to join a Stanley Cup-winning culture — don't answer that — the New York Rangers in 2020-21, the Colorado Avalanche where he won the Stanley Cup in 2021-22, the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022-23, and a trade back to Colorado in 2023 where he played this past season.
Across all his stops, Johnson has compiled 336 points (77 goals, 259 assists). It was in Columbus where he had the most points (154), goals (36), and assists (118) of any of his six team stops.
Last season, Johnson played 80 games for Colorado, scoring 16 points (three goals, 13 assists).
For a team looking to solve their blue line woes, it's not as if Johnson's presence alone contributes much towards that plight, but he's a veteran signed to a cheap contract who does know what it takes to win. He'll help the young guys and the rookies, and he's a body on the back end for a team that has continued to rack up an injury toll as long as a CVS receipt.
"I'm coming to play and compete like I do every night," Johnson said. "But it's a different situation (than Colorado). There are a lot of young guys, and I'm going to try to be the best example and role model I can be. I've been around a lot of great leaders in my career.
"I'm going to try to apply all those things toward helping this group out, on and off the ice. That's the meal room, the weight room, having young guys over for dinner ... whatever I can do to help."
The oldest player on the Blue Jackets roster, it's a different time now than his first stint with Columbus.
| Season | Team | GP | TOI | TOI/GP | CF/60 | CA/60 | SF/60 | SA/60 | GF/60 | GA/60 | xGF/60 | xGA/60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20072008 | L.A. | 74 | 1268:19 | 17:08 | 45.93 | 66.61 | 25.31 | 35.95 | 2.03 | 3.12 | 1.9 | 2.98 |
| 20082009 | L.A. | 41 | 640:01 | 15:36 | 47.25 | 59.9 | 24.94 | 32.06 | 1.87 | 3.19 | 1.97 | 2.48 |
| 20092010 | L.A. | 80 | 1342:10 | 16:46 | 53.91 | 55.3 | 28.43 | 30.26 | 2.37 | 3.13 | 2.18 | 2.37 |
| 20102011 | L.A. | 82 | 1408:57 | 17:10 | 54.34 | 57.15 | 28.02 | 31.6 | 1.96 | 2.56 | 2.12 | 2.28 |
| 20112012 | L.A. | 61 | 976:19 | 16:00 | 56.05 | 56.6 | 29.13 | 30.79 | 1.6 | 2.27 | 2.08 | 2.44 |
| 20112012 | CBJ | 21 | 387:28 | 18:27 | 47.85 | 64.26 | 28.34 | 34.69 | 2.63 | 2.17 | 2.06 | 2.31 |
| 20122013 | CBJ | 44 | 793:04 | 18:01 | 47.21 | 57.5 | 24.28 | 32.23 | 1.82 | 2.19 | 1.55 | 2.28 |
| 20132014 | CBJ | 82 | 1414:46 | 17:15 | 50.09 | 54.41 | 27.91 | 30.07 | 2.46 | 2.46 | 2.02 | 2.14 |
| 20142015 | CBJ | 79 | 1348:34 | 17:04 | 50.59 | 56.1 | 28.61 | 32.17 | 2.45 | 2.98 | 2.1 | 2.34 |
| 20152016 | CBJ | 60 | 1061:19 | 17:41 | 51.61 | 59.36 | 29.06 | 32.17 | 1.81 | 2.32 | 2.45 | 2.4 |
| 20162017 | CBJ | 82 | 1484:09 | 18:05 | 55.87 | 57.29 | 32.02 | 31.17 | 2.55 | 1.94 | 2.54 | 2.35 |
| 20172018 | CBJ | 77 | 1279:21 | 16:36 | 54.26 | 58.76 | 29.5 | 31.94 | 2.16 | 2.53 | 2.45 | 2.55 |
| 20182019 | PIT | 82 | 1321:15 | 16:06 | 54.72 | 63.89 | 28.79 | 35.01 | 2.09 | 2.72 | 2.29 | 2.67 |
| 20192020 | PIT | 67 | 1127:07 | 16:49 | 50.25 | 56.75 | 28.27 | 32.68 | 2.18 | 2.61 | 2.21 | 2.45 |
| 20202021 | NYR | 13 | 191:49 | 14:45 | 45.67 | 57.87 | 26.9 | 31.28 | 0.63 | 2.19 | 1.88 | 2.21 |
| 20212022 | COL | 74 | 1050:40 | 14:11 | 54.36 | 59.56 | 29.98 | 34.95 | 2.11 | 2.06 | 2.24 | 2.56 |
| 20222023 | CHI | 58 | 988:33 | 17:02 | 43.34 | 64.94 | 23.85 | 35.2 | 1.34 | 3.03 | 1.84 | 3.17 |
| 20222023 | COL | 25 | 386:27 | 15:27 | 50.77 | 56.51 | 30.9 | 28.26 | 2.48 | 1.4 | 2.44 | 2.26 |
| 20232024 | COL | 80 | 1100:25 | 13:45 | 60.36 | 62.27 | 28.79 | 29.55 | 2.84 | 2.13 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
When his first tour with the team started, Johnson was 25 years old and 31 by the time he left for Pittsburgh via free agency. He was part of the second playoff team in club history when the Jackets fell in six games to the Penguins in 2013-14. He played all 82 games that season and again in 2016-17 when Columbus set franchise records for wins (50) and points (108).
Johnson has 21 career playoff points (five goals, 16 assists). He scored seven points (three goals, four assists) in six games for Columbus in 2013-14 and two points (one goal, one assist) in five games in 2016-17. He hasn't had a point in the playoffs since 2016-17, a span of 34 games.
The Athletic gave Columbus a B for their free agency.
The Blue Jackets had to straddle a line of adding veteran players to a too-young group but not adding too many players on too long a term that would end up getting in the way of their emerging young players. They did that with one significant option on each end of the ice. Sean Monahan, coming off a 26-goal season with Montreal and Winnipeg, will allow Adam Fantilli, 19, to slot into a No. 2 center’s role and Cole Sillinger to play on a checking line. That’s where they belong at this stage of their careers, and Monahan, as he gets older, may end up sliding down the lineup as his five-year contract progresses. Meanwhile, on defense, the Blue Jackets have two young defensemen — David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk — who are close to ready for the NHL. But signing Jack Johnson to an NHL-minimum contract (one year, $775,000) gives them breathing room in case those players aren’t ready. Monahan and Johnson are expected to be big voices in the dressing room, too. — Aaron Portzline
The move itself might not excite many fans but for the league minimum and a third-pairing assignment?
No problem.
