Kings re-sign Jack Johnson
The numbers: Jack Johnson re-signed with the Kings today, a two-year contract with a salary-cap hit of $1.425 million per season.
The Los Angeles Kings have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with restricted free agent defenseman Jack Johnson, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced Friday.
Johnson, 22, matched a career-high with 11 points (6-5=11), recorded 46 penalty minutes and tied for first among Kings’ defensemen with six goals and three power-play goals even though he only appeared in 41 regular season games this past season. The defenseman sustained a shoulder injury and was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 13, 2008. He was activated from injured reserve after missing 41 games on Jan. 17, 2009.
Johnson, a 6-1, 225-pound native of Indianapolis also tied for first among NHL defensemen with three shootout goals (3-for-6 = 50 percent) this past season and his three shootout goals also tied for first on the Kings. Additionally, the blue-liner appeared in his 100th Kings/NHL game at Chicago on March 9, 2009, notched his first career multi-point game (1-1=2) vs. Atlanta on Feb. 16, 2009, and scored the game-deciding shootout goal at the New York Islanders on Feb. 10, 2009, while averaging 20:16 of ice time per game (fifth on the team).
Johnson was selected as the Kings’ Best Newcomer (Mark Bavis Memorial Award) and Outstanding Defenseman at the close of the 2007-08 season after recording 11 points (3-8=11) and 76 penalty minutes in 74 regular season games. That season, he also logged at least 23 minutes of ice time 25 times and in 15 of his last 20 contests. He finished third among NHL rookies (and third on the Kings) while averaging 21:41 of ice time per game and finished second among rookies (and second on the Kings) with 136 blocked shots. Johnson, who was selected to participate at the YoungStars skills event as part of the 2008 NHL All-Star Weekend in Atlanta (Jan. 26, 2008), scored his first Kings/NHL goal at Vancouver on Oct. 19, 2007, and earned his first NHL point with an assist at Dallas on Oct. 10, 2007.
Johnson made his Kings/NHL debut vs. Vancouver on March 29, 2007, and he averaged 21:22 of ice time in five regular season games after signing with the Kings on March 27, 2007. Johnson signed with the Kings after completing his sophomore season at the University of Michigan where he was named the CCHA’s Best Offensive Defenseman and selected to the All-CCHA First Team (he received 10 first-place votes, the most of any player on the ballot) at the end of the college season after totaling 39 points (16-23=39) and 87 penalty minutes in 36 games. His 16 goals represented the second highest single-season goal total ever amassed by a U-M defenseman (most by a sophomore defenseman), while his plus-26 rating ranked second on the Wolverines and his 87 penalty minutes were a team high.
Johnson, who earlier this month was invited to attend the 2009 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Orientation Camp (August 17-19 in Woodbridge, Illinois) along with teammates Dustin Brown, Jonathan Quick and Rob Scuderi, has skated with Team USA on several occasions. He last represented Team USA at the 2009 World Championships (9 GP, 5-2=7) where his five goals led all defensemen in the tournament (tied for fifth overall) and his seven points tied for fourth most among defensemen in the tournament.
Johnson, acquired by the Kings along with defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky for center Eric Belanger and defenseman Tim Gleason on Sept. 29, 2006, has 22 points (9-13=22) and 140 penalty minutes in 120 career NHL regular season games – all with the Kings.
Johnson was originally selected by Carolina in the first-round (3rd overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
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