The Minnesota Wild made a minor move on Monday, announcing that veteran defenseman Jack Johnson has been invited to their training camp on a player try-out (PTO) deal. Johnson, third pick overall in the 2005 NHL draft, does have some Minnesota ties as he played at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault prior to entering the US National Team Development Program. The 38-year-old has logged over 1200 NHL games, with his most recent playing time coming in Columbus.
What’s the purpose of giving a player on the backend of his career a spot in training camp? Mainly, depth. As of right now there are three left-shot defenseman on the Wild roster: Jonas Brodin, Jake Middleton, and Zeev Buium. One of those players (Brodin) is starting the season on injured reserve and another (Buium) is 19-years-old with a whopping four games of NHL experience. Waiting in the wings is another rookie, Carson Lambos, who has zero NHL experience.
Bringing Johnson in on a PTO is as low-cost as a general manager can get in regards to helping fill a hole on the roster. There is zero obligation on Bill Guerin’s part. If it doesn’t work out, they can part ways without having to worry about waivers, buyouts, or any other financial nonsense. Johnson also isn’t tied to the Wild. If he has a strong camp, but doesn’t make the roster, he is still free to sign a deal with another organization.
It’s been a long, winding trip from Faribault to St. Paul. Drafted by the Hurricanes in 2005, he was traded to Los Angeles just prior to the 2006 season starting. He was then part of a deadline blockbuster in 2012 when the Kings sent him to Columbus with a first-round pick for Jeff Carter. He had his longest sustained success with the Blue Jackets before leaving as a free-agent in 2018 to sign with the Penguins.
After starting his career with the lofty expectations of a top-three draft pick, Johnson has aged into a solid journeyman career. Since that 2018-19 season he has played for five different organizations (including Colorado twice) with Columbus being his most recent club. Last year he appeared in 41 games for the Blue Jackets, putting up 6 assists while averaging 12:52 of ice time.
It wasn’t a great showing as finished underwater in most possession stats (35.29% xGF, 41.79% SCF, and 39.20% HDCF) but he did provide some locker room leadership for a young Columbus team that was dealing with the tragic loss of Johnny Gaudreau and injuries to key veterans.
At best he’s looking at filling out the bottom-pairing for the Wild if he makes the roster until Brodin is healthy. Should he win the spot in camp over the rookie Lambos or Matt Kiersted, who was signed earlier this summer, Johnson will likely sign a league minimum contract.