Some players would turn off their phone for a few hours when out to dinner for a special occasion. But when a ring from his agent interrupted Jack Johnson and his wife Kelly’s evening celebrating their 10th anniversary in early July, it turned out to be a call worth taking.
The news was that after 19 NHL seasons, Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin was wondering if the veteran defenseman was interested in a chance to try out with the Wild.
“My agent called to say ‘great conversation with Billy.’ I’ve known (Guerin) since my days in Pittsburgh, and he said he was interested,” Johnson said, after his second day of Wild training camp. “Then it just kind of came to fruition later on in the summer, and I was excited to have a great conversation with him. I know coach (John) Hynes and Billy really well, and I was really comfortable with them and excited about it, and appreciated the opportunity.”
At age 38, with more than 1,200 NHL games on his resume, Johnson has seen and done it all during stops with the Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets (twice), Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche (twice), Chicago Blackhawks and now the Wild.
Johnson was one of the veterans on the ice Sunday afternoon in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where the Wild opened the preseason with a 3-2 overtime win over the Jets.
Minnesota trailed 2-0 early but got two goals from Yakov Trenin — including the winner after the Wild killed an overtime penalty — and another from Hunter Haight. Jesper Wallstedt had 21 saves for the Wild, who travel to Dallas for their second preseason game on Tuesday.
“I thought (Trenin) really skated well. I think he has had a good camp,” Hynes said after the game. “He has come back in phenomenal shape. He looks more comfortable with the puck this year, and the way he scored the two goals, he was right in around the net front. He has got a very good release, and he snapped those two home.”
Johnson logged more than 17 minutes of ice time and showed Hynes both offense and defense. He zipped a pass to the net front that led to the Wild’s second period goal, and delivered a noisy rub-out check on Jets forward Brad Lambert in the third period.
“I thought Jack was solid tonight. He moved the puck well under pressure on our breakouts, and he moved it simple and effective, which is what we want,” Hynes said. “From a defensive standpoint, he was physical when he needed to be, so another good start for him.”
While he came to Minnesota with no promises or guarantees in hand, having agreed only to a professional tryout contract, the Wild have dealt with myriad injuries in the past two seasons.
With veteran Jonas Brodin working to return from offseason surgery, and rookie Zeev Buium missing early training camp practices due to injury, the window of opportunity for Johnson to earn an opening night roster spot seemed to open just a bit.
“Obviously he has great experience, so you can tell as a player that he’s attentive,” Hynes said early in training camp. “I think his details are good, because he’s coming in learning on the fly, and it’s a tryout situation. So I thought his effort in practices has been good, and I think he’s gathering the information that we’re giving these guys, and he’s able to execute it right away.”
Born in Indianapolis and raised in suburban Detroit, Johnson’s journey to elite-level hockey began in Minnesota.
He spent three seasons – eighth, ninth and 10th grades – at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, skating with teammates such as Zach Parise and Sidney Crosby, before moving to USA Hockey’s National Team Development program, then playing two seasons of college hockey at Michigan.
Johnson was the third overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft, and was a member of Colorado’s Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2022.
If things work out with the Wild, Johnson admitted he’s hoping to take an off day visit to Shattuck and reconnect with coach Troy Ward.
The tryout in Minnesota is not new territory for Johnson, who made the Colorado roster in a similar situation four years ago, and ended up with his name on the game’s most coveted trophy. He sees some parallels with the Wild, early in training camp.
“I think this team’s looking to get over a hump and contend for the Stanley Cup, and I’ve been fortunate to be on a couple of teams that go in with the expectations of going for the Stanley Cup,” he said. “I’m just looking to be a piece and help out in any way I can, whether it’s on the ice or in the locker room, off the ice, away from the rink, kind of helping with what I know that it takes to get to that place that you want to be.”
Although he was not aware of it until a reporter pointed it out, Johnson needs to play in 29 more regular season games to move ahead of former Minnesota North Stars mainstay Craig Ludwig into fifth place on the NHL’s list of career games played by an American defenseman.
The preseason games don’t count, but as Hynes and Guerin look to assemble the right mix of experience and youth on their blue line, it’s clear that Johnson has a shot to be in the mix. And for that, he is thankful.
“At the end of the day, it’s hockey. And I love to play. I’m excited, I love to compete,” Johnson said. “I’m just appreciative of the opportunity. And you know, I still feel like I’ve got some left in the tank, and I’m just excited to be out there.”
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