Feel great for Erik Johnson and Gabe Landeskog, the longest-tenured Avalanche players.
Heap praise on Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, two of the top handful of players in hockey.
And salute Jared Bednar, who has won titles as a coach in the ECHL, AHL and NHL.
But, ahead of Thursday’s victory parade in downtown Denver, reserve a special feeling for Jack Johnson.
Amid the chaos on the Amalie Arena ice late Sunday night after the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Cup Final, one player I made sure to find was Johnson.
Johnson signed a professional tryout contract with the Avalanche last September … and played 74 regular-season games.
He was a healthy scratch for the first seven playoff games … and played the final 13 after Sam Girard sustained a broken sternum. He played 1,024 regular-season games before his first Final appearance … and advanced past the opening round for the first time.
Just about every one of Johnson’s teammates had left the ice to celebrate in the locker room, but he remained to savor everything about June 26, 2022.
“Oh man, so much hard work paying off,” Johnson told me. “It was just an overwhelming amount of emotions (to raise the Cup). Itap hard to describe.
“Endless hours in the gym and on the ice, ups and downs in life and hockey and you get that moment.”
Emphasis on “downs.”
- Johnson was traded from Los Angeles to Columbus during the 2011-12 season; the Kings would win the Cup that season and again in 2014.
- In November 2014, while playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Johnson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after his parents misappropriated $20 million of his earnings for themselves. Two years later, he essentially agreed to play for free after a court settlement with creditors.
- In October 2020, the Pittsburgh Penguins bought out the final two seasons of his five-year, $16.25 million contract.
- And in March 2021, while playing for the New York Rangers, he underwent hernia surgery.
“A year ago this time, I was going to physical therapy rehabbing from a pretty serious injury,” Johnson said before the Final. “I knew I had some good hockey left in me, but sometimes, those choices aren’t up to you.”
During the regular season, Johnson was a steady player; only Makar and Erik Johnson played in more regular-season games. He had only one goal, but played 16:45 per game.
“He’s been an underrated piece to our team,” Erik Johnson said before the Final. “He’s been really, really good for us.”
The return-to-health/emergence of Bo Byram moved Jack Johnson to No. 7 on the blue-line depth chart, meaning he was a playoff spectator until Girard’s injury in Game 3 of the St. Louis series.
On a team with several big-dollar contracts — seven players have cap hits of at least $4 million in 2022-23 with an inevitable MacKinnon extension looming — the Avalanche will need to rely on players of Johnson’s ilk in its repeat bid. Veterans on one-year deals. Veterans who will play for less than $1 million. And veterans who are chasing an elusive championship. The Avs will be the perfect place for that kind of player.
The Avs were the perfect place for Jack Johnson.
“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen (last summer),” he said. “Here I am and itap amazing.”
