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Jack Johnson

Blue Jackets Notes: Fabbro, Johnson, Chinakhov, Greaves

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The Columbus Blue Jackets received a series of injury and roster updates on Wednesday, headlined by an update on defenseman Dante Fabbro’s injury. Fabbro left Columbus’ Tuesday loss to Tampa Bay in the second period, after receiving a scary knee-to-knee hit from Lightning rookie Conor Geekie. But Fabbro has avoided the worst possible outcome, nursing more of a charley horse than a bad knee injury per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. Fabbro was not available for Columbus’ optional Wednesday practice.

Fabbro will be working to maintain his hot streak in Columbus if he does play. He has seven points, 16 penalty minutes, and a +11 in 18 games since the Blue Jackets claimed him off waivers in November. It’s been a 180-degree turnaround from his start to the season with Nashville, which saw Fabbro record no scoring, no penalties, and a -3 through six games. The 2016 17th-overall pick has been a fixture of the Predators’ lineup since turning pro at the end of the 2018-19 season, establishing a confident role on the team’s second pair. But he never seemed to favor either zone, with low-scoring totals complemented by negative plus-minuses and poor advanced stats. He ultimately totaled just 72 points in 315 games, and seven seasons, with the Predators. 24 points in 66 games of the 2021-22 campaign stand as his career-high in scoring. But Fabbro could surpass that mark this year, with his hot start in Columbus putting him on pace for 26 points – even despite no scoring in Nashville. That pace would require he play in all 50 games remaining on the Blue Jackets’ schedule, though – a mission that will start by returning from this lower-body injury.

Other notes out of Ohio:

  • Veteran defenseman Jack Johnson will join Fabbro as questionable for Wednesday night’s game per Portzline. Johnson took a stick to the eye in Sunday’s match against Carolina and is scheduled to see an eye doctor in Columbus on Wednesday. He has rotated out of Columbus third pairing, averaging 13:32 in ice time and recording just one assist in 18 games this season. With both Fabbro and Johnson both questionable, Portzline adds that Columbus is likely to recall a defenseman from the minors ahead of Thursday’s game. That could be the opportunity for top prospects Denton Mateychuk or Stanislav Svozil to earn their jump to the top flight. Mateychuk has 23 points in 25 AHL games this season, while Svozil has 13 in 22 games.
  • Forward Yegor Chinakhov was on the ice for Wednesday’s optional skate shares NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda. It’s Chinakhov’s first time skating since suffering an upper-body injury on November 27th. He has since missed Columbus’ last 11 games and was placed on injured reserve on December 11th. Chinakhov is having a strong year outside of the injuries, with 14 points – split evenly – through 21 games this season. He ranks in the top five of scoring among Blue Jackets forwards, despite averaging the least amount of ice time of anyone above him. Chinakhov is also hitting more and blocking more shots, with his 2024-25 numbers (32 hits, 10 blocks) already narrowing in on his totals from 53 games of 2023-24 (43 hits, 28 blocks). He’ll quickly slot back into Columbus’ middle-six when he returns to full health – a path that started with a return to the ice today.
  • Finally, Columbus has loaned goaltender Jet Greaves back to the AHL. Greaves was recalled on December 11th and stepped into three games, but posted a measly 0-1-2 record and .895 save percentage. He’ll now return to the minors, where he’s already managed an 8-4-2 record and .902 save percentage in 15 appearances. Greaves’ assignment will leave Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov as the sole pair in Columbus’ goaltending room.

Evening Notes: Maple Leafs, Johnson, Trouba

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are believed to be searching for another center (as per The Fourth Period). General manager Brad Treliving has been hoping to upgrade the second-line center position for some time now and is looking at potential options to do so. With the holiday trade freeze set to start on Friday, it doesn’t appear likely that a deal will be made in 2024, but Toronto is searching the market for a potential fit. Any move that they make will require a lot of creativity as Toronto doesn’t have a first-round pick this year, although they do hold their second and third-rounders.

Toronto may just have to wait until closer to the NHL trade deadline to make a deal happen as they will have just under $2.3MM available to them at that time (as per PuckPedia). The Maple Leafs could potentially look at a player like Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders, who is in the final year of his deal and is making $6MM. Toronto would need New York to retain on a deal and take a salary back, but those are the types of transactions Treliving could target.

In other evening notes:

  • Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson left today’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with an upper-body injury and did not return (Twitter Link). The 37-year-old took a stick to the face from Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the first period and did not return at the start of the second period. Kotkaniemi was assessed a four-minute double minor on the play. Johnson has dressed in 17 games this season, averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per game and tallying one assist.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic spoke with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba about his recent trade and why he declined to facilitate a trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Trouba was dealt by the New York Rangers to Anaheim, but had other suitors, including Columbus. Trouba told Portzline that there were no issues with Columbus, but he felt Anaheim would be a better fit for him and his wife, as well as her career as a doctor.

Blue Jackets Sign Jack Johnson

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July 3: Columbus made the deal official Wednesday morning.

July 2: The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed defenseman Jack Johnson to a one-year deal worth $775K (as per PuckPedia). The deal brings Johnson back to the organization in which he had the most success on the ice, having played in Columbus for seven seasons. Johnson has bounced around the league to Pittsburgh, Colorado, Chicago and the New York Rangers since leaving Columbus in 2018 and won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche back in 2022.

The 37-year-old Johnson isn’t the offensive contributor he once was and will likely serve as a depth defenseman on the Blue Jackets bottom pairing. He should also provide their young group with a veteran presence.

Johnson was a third overall pick of the Hurricanes back in 2005, selected two spots behind his good friend Sidney Crosby. The Indianapolis, Indiana native spent six seasons in Los Angeles before he was dealt to Columbus along with a first-round pick for Jeff Carter. The Kings went on to win two cups with Carter in the lineup, while Johnson and the Blue Jackets time together was a rollercoaster that culminated in Johnson departing as a free agent in 2018 to sign with the Penguins.

Johnson had three goals and 13 assists in 80 games last season with the Avalanche and posted a +15. He played just under 15 minutes a night and remained a drain on possession numbers, posting a negative relative CF% for the 17th time in 18 NHL seasons.

Logan O’Connor To Undergo Hip Surgery, Out For Season

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Avalanche winger Logan O’Connor will undergo hip surgery this week and will not return this season, Ryan Boulding of NHL.com reports. O’Connor, who last played on March 4, has been dealing with the injury for most of the season, head coach Jared Bednar said.

Bednar issued multiple other injury updates Sunday, confirming that veteran winger Zach Parise is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and that Ross Colton, Jack Johnson and Artturi Lehkonen did not practice due to illness but will travel with the team on their upcoming four-game road trip. Depth center Chris Wagner, who sat out Friday’s game against the Wild with an upper-body injury, will be available on the trip if needed, Bednar said.

Before exiting the lineup last week, O’Connor missed a four-game stretch in February and a two-game stretch in November with a lower-body injury. Bednar’s comments imply that O’Connor sustained the initial injury as late as Nov. 20, the game immediately prior to his first absence of the season.

Despite the injury, O’Connor has managed the best season of his career and was a necessary stabilizing force with many Avalanche depth forwards either missing significant time or underperforming. He managed 13 goals, 12 assists and 25 points in 57 games, a career-best 0.44 points per game pace, although he’d failed to get on the scoresheet in his last seven games.

Aside from his point totals, O’Connor also recorded career-highs in ATOI (14:57) while putting up good even-strength possession stats (54.5 CF%, 54.3 xGF%) in shutdown usage. He was also a significant part of the Avs’ top-10 penalty kill, averaging 2:17 per game.

Luckily for Colorado, GM Chris MacFarland went big-game hunting at the trade deadline. Their acquisitions of Casey Mittelstadt and Sean Walker will draw the most attention, but a targeted move to snag Yakov Trenin from the Predators should help balance out O’Connor’s absence. The 27-year-old Trenin hasn’t scored at O’Connor’s rate this year, posting 14 points in 61 games, but he does have double-digit goal totals and is comfortable in defensive usage and penalty-kill scenarios. He’ll slot seamlessly into the third-line right wing O’Connor was projected to occupy behind Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen down the stretch and in the postseason.

O’Connor is in the second season of a three-year, $3.15MM extension signed with the Avs in 2021 that began in the 2022-23 season. He costs $1.05MM against the cap, which the Avalanche could use to increase their financial flexibility down the stretch by placing him on LTIR, but are unlikely to do so with a $2.1MM cushion still remaining from Pavel Francouz’s and Gabriel Landeskog’s combined $9MM cap hits.

Afternoon Notes: Panthers, Myers, Johnson

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Top Florida Panthers centerman Aleksander Barkov will be a game-time decision for the team’s Wednesday night game against the Arizona Coyotes, per head coach Paul Maurice. Barkov has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. Maurice also shared that defenseman Gustav Forsling is expected to make his return from a personal absence that held him out of Monday night’s game.

The Panthers performed admirably despite Barkov and Forsling’s absence, beating the Nashville Predators 4-1, bringing an end to a four-game losing streak. Interestingly, the losing streak came immediately after a nine-game winning streak that dated back to the holiday season. Florida will look to get back to their festive feelings with the return of both their second-highest-scoring forward and defenseman on a point-per-game basis.

Centerman Nick Cousins also made his return to Florida’s practices on Monday, wearing a no-contact jersey. Cousins has been out since January 2nd with a concussion. He’s appeared in 37 games this year, netting five points, 20 penalty minutes, and a -10.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have sent defenseman Philippe Myers to the AHL. Myers has been with the top club since January 1st, appearing in five games and failing to score a point. He’s spent the majority of his season with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, where he’s managed a team-leading +20, in addition to nine points and 43 penalty minutes, through 28 games.
  • Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson will miss the team’s Wednesday night game with a nagging lower-body injury, per head coach Jared Bednar. He’s been designated as day-to-day. Johnson has played in 47 games this year, netting nine points, 34 penalty minutes, and a +6 – though he’s averaging just under 15 minutes of ice time, a step down from the 17 minutes he averaged last season.

Colorado Avalanche To Sign Jack Johnson

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Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports that the Colorado Avalanche are bringing back defenseman Jack Johnson on a one-year, $775K deal for the 2023-24 NHL season. This will mark Johnson’s third season with the team in as many years.

Despite a brief stint with the Chicago Blackhawks last year, Johnson has spent the better part of the last two seasons with Colorado, being a part of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2022. Not the player he used to be, Johnson still has the ability to take on around 15-17 minutes of ice time per game.

His run with the Blackhawks at the beginning of last season was not great by any means, only tallying four assists in 58 games, carrying a horrid -25 rating. After a midseason trade that sent Andreas Englund back to Chicago, Johnson played considerably better with the Avalanche. Johnson replicated his point totals in about as half as many games with the Avalanche and carrying a +10 rating along the way.

 

Playoff Notes: Pavelski, Murray, Johnson

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As the Dallas Stars try to close out their First Round series on the road, they could see an important veteran return to the lineup. Head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters today that Joe Pavelski will travel to Minnesota for Game 6 and will likely be a game-time decision.

Pavelski hasn’t played in Games 2 through 5, sidelined due to concussion protocols after a heavy hit from Wild defender Matt Dumba in Game 1. Dallas has maintained pace without Pavelski’s services, thanks to Tyler Seguin’s point-per-game performance in his absence, but they’ll need all the help they can get to stave off a hungry and physical Wild team looking to extend their season at home. A model of consistency, Pavelski’s chemistry with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson has been Dallas’ highlighting factor the past few seasons.

More from around the league’s complement of playoff teams this morning:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Matt Murray had seemingly returned to practice this morning for the first time in nearly a month, but skated with a separate pad of players, says The Hockey News’ David Alter. Murray, sidelined with a concussion since April 2, is unlikely to get any playing time once he is healthy but serves as a more veteran backup option to Ilya Samsonov. Joseph Woll has stayed on the Leafs’ bench in Murray’s absence, making his playoff debut in relief in Game 1’s loss against the Lightning. Murray’s availability for a potential series-clinching Game 5 on Thursday is uncertain.
  • Veteran Colorado Avalanche defender Jack Johnson hasn’t played in his team’s First Round series against the Seattle Kraken due to a lower-body injury, but NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika reports he could draw in for the suspended Cale Makar in Game 5. Johnson, who recorded four points and a +10 rating in 25 games after being re-acquired at the trade deadline from Chicago, would slot into a bottom-pairing role. If he’s unable to play, 34-year-old Brad Hunt could make his first postseason appearance since playing in four games with the Wild during the 2020 bubble.

Central Division Notes: Scheifele, Nichushkin, Helm, Johnson

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In Game Four between the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets, star center Mark Scheifele left the game early with an upper-body injury. Already missing Josh Morrissey and Nikolaj Ehlers, including Scheifele in that group moving forward might be the nail in the coffin for the Jets in their first-round matchup.

Thankfully for Jets fans, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet relays on a message from head coach Rick Bowness, showing optimism that Scheifele could return for Game Five. With the Golden Knights already leading the series three games to one, having Scheifele on the ice for Winnipeg would certainly increase their chances of extending the series.

In four games in this year’s playoffs, Scheifele scored once, adding a goal in the unfortunate Game Three loss in double overtime. Although not providing a career-best performance this regular season in terms of points, Scheifele did crack his career-high in goals this year, scoring 42 goals and 26 assists in 81 games played.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • Coming off of the recent suspension of defenseman Cale Makar, Ryan Boulding of the NHL also reports that Valeri Nichushkin will still not be an option for the Colorado Avalanche in Game Five. Fortunately for the Avalanche, they seemed to have been in this position all season long due to injuries, and their depth was able to carry them to a first-place finish in the Central Division. The terms of Nichushkin’s absence has been one of the more bewildering stories off the ice these playoffs, as he has been out of the lineup for personal reasons, leaving Seattle shortly before the Avalanche took on the Seattle Kraken for Game Three.
  • In the same announcement, Boulding also reports that forward Darren Helm and Jack Johnson may be options for the Avalanche for Game Five. Helm, seemingly injured for the entire season, has been out of the lineup since Colorado’s loss in Game One. Johnson on the other hand, re-acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline, has yet to suit up for the Avalanche in this series.

Jack Johnson’s Injury Not Believed To Be Serious

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Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told Ryan Boulding of NHL.com that he doesn’t believe the injury to Jack Johnson is serious and he has the defenseman as day to day. Johnson was scratched late on Tuesday night before their game one matchup with the Seattle Kraken. Erik Johnson took his spot on the blue line in the 3-1 loss.

Jack Johnson had signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks last summer after winning his first Stanley Cup with Colorado. The Michigan alum then returned to the Avalanche in a midseason trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Overall, the former third overall pick had two goals and six assists in 83 games split between both teams.

While Jack Johnson doesn’t possess the offensive abilities that he once did and has struggled at times in his own end, he is likely the best fit for Colorado’s third pairing. If he can play in game two on Thursday it would likely bump Erik Johnson back out of the lineup. The 2006 first overall pick has struggled this season after putting up a respectable 25 points just last year.

The Avalanche currently find themselves down 1-0 to the lower seeded Kraken as they begin the defense of the Stanley Cup. They are already missing Gabriel Landeskog and Josh Manson and can ill afford to lose any more bodies as they try to claw back even in their series with Seattle.

Colorado Avalanche Acquire Jack Johnson

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The Colorado Avalanche are bringing back a piece of their Stanley Cup roster, re-acquiring Jack Johnson from the Chicago Blackhawks. Andreas Englund will be the player going back to Chicago.

Johnson, 36, certainly isn’t the player that went third overall in 2005, or even the one that scored 40 points in 2014-15 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. But given his familiarity with the Avalanche organization and success last year, it is a nice reunion for the veteran defenseman.

Colorado is missing Erik Johnson and Cale Makar, considerably limiting their defensive depth. Jack Johnson will slide into the depth chart in a similar role as he did last year, playing limited minutes whenever needed but not making much of an impact one way or another.

Giving up Englund means almost nothing for the Avalanche, and shows there wasn’t really a market for Johnson around the league. The 27-year-old has played 36 NHL games this year and 69 in his career, but is still looking for his first goal. As a pending unrestricted free agent, Englund doesn’t represent much of anything for the Blackhawks moving forward.

This effectively boils down to doing Johnson a favor, sending him back to a great team that he is comfortable with after logging some difficult minutes this year. The veteran defender was playing nearly 20 minutes a night for Chicago, more than he has since 2017. He won’t get anywhere near that much playing time in Colorado, but now has the chance to go for another long playoff run before his career winds down.

Kevin Weekes of ESPN broke the deal on Twitter.

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