Jack Johnson signs with Blue Jackets, says he’s ready to be a ‘role model’ on the blue line

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets’ search for defensive depth and another veteran voice in the locker room has landed on a familiar player.

Defenseman Jack Johnson, who spent seven seasons with the Blue Jackets over the past decade, signed a one-year, $775,000 contract — the NHL minimum salary — after meeting with general manager Don Waddell at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Johnson, 37, has played 1,187 games with six different franchises, winning the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022. The 2024-25 season will be his 19th in the NHL.

Johnson continued to live in suburban Columbus even as his career took him to Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers, Colorado, Chicago and back to Colorado after leaving the Blue Jackets as a free agent following the 2017-18 season.

Contract negotiations began when Johnson informed the Blue Jackets that he would welcome the chance to play, and possibly finish his career, in Columbus.

“This is my hometown,” Johnson said. The Athletic“This city means a lot to me. This is where I raise my family. This is also where my wife’s family is. It’s really special.”

On Monday, the opening day of free agency, the Blue Jackets signed 29-year-old center Sean Monahan to a five-year, $27.5 million contract to be the No. 1 center and help mentor their young forwards, particularly centers Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger.

Johnson will be asked to play a similar role — along with other Blue Jackets veterans — with defensemen David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk, two former first-round draft picks who will arrive at training camp with solid chances of making the roster.

“I come here to play and compete like I do every night,” Johnson said. “But it’s a different situation (than Colorado). There’s a lot of young players and I’m going to try to be the best example and role model that I can be. I’ve been around a lot of great leaders in my career.”

“I’m going to try to do all those things to help this group, on and off the ice. That’s the dining room, the weight room, having kids over for dinner… anything I can do to help.”

Johnson is the only player in the Blue Jackets’ locker room whose name is on the Stanley Cup. That should be an asset in a room full of 20- and 21-year-olds.

“It really changes your life,” Johnson said. “It gives you a new level of confidence and knowledge, just knowing how hard it is to win. It’s definitely the hardest trophy to win in sports, and there’s a great sense of pride in winning it.”

“I will remember this for the rest of my life. I hope I can do whatever I can to contribute, in a small way, to helping this organization achieve that.”

If Johnson’s role is similar to the one he played in Colorado, it will be as a third-pairing player with heavy penalty-killing duties. At 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, he works his weight in the corners and in front of the net. In 80 regular-season games with Colorado last season, he had a 3-13-16 record and played 14:55 per game.

“I feel like I have a lot of good things to offer hockey,” he said.

A lot has changed since Johnson played in Columbus.

The only Blue Jackets players who were with the club when Johnson last played for the Jackets in 2017-18 are defenseman Zach Werenski and captain Boone Jenner. Some of his former teammates — Jared Boll, Derek Dorsett and others — now work for the club.

“I saw a lot of familiar faces in there today,” Johnson said. “And the (renovated) locker room is amazing. I swear if I didn’t have someone to show me around, I would have gotten lost in there. It’s definitely an NHL locker room now.”

Johnson infuriated the Blue Jackets, particularly former coach John Tortorella, when he told the Pittsburgh media after signing with the Penguins in the summer of 2018 that he was “looking to be in a winning culture.” Johnson insisted at the time that he was only talking about Pittsburgh, not trying to insult the Blue Jackets.

(Photo by Jack Johnson: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)