The Minnesota Wild are bringing a very experienced, veteran defenseman to training camp and it is most likely just out of precaution.
Announced by the team on Monday afternoon, the Wild have signed defenseman Jack Johnson to a professional tryout and the 38-year-old blueliner will be reporting to training camp this fall.
Johnson has a total of 1,228 NHL games played under his belt, through a total of 19 seasons for six different organizations. As of late, he’s been bouncing around from team-to-team — but that did include a stop with the Colorado Avalanche where he played a depth role and won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Last season, Johnson returned to the Columbus Blue jackets, where he played in 41 games and earned six assists while averaging just 12:52 TOI. He is a somewhat below-average NHL depth defenseman right now, but he does bring a whole lot of experience and it is clear why the Wild are bringing in Johnson next month.
Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin underwent surgery in late June to fix an upper-body injury he was experiencing but given the timeline of recovery, he might miss the start of the season. Johnson provides a little bit of insurance and prevents the team from overstretching and recalling an ill-prepared Carson Lambos or David Spacek to replace someone. Instead, if Johnson is eventually signed to a contract and everything looks halfway decent in camp, Johnson provides a buffer between the NHL lineup and the still-developing young blueliners down in the AHL.
- Our top prospect ranking is starting and the first post is going to all the honorable mentions — the players that just missed the cut. [Hockey Wilderness]
- More details on the Wild bringing in Jack Johnson. [The Athletic]
Off the trail…
- The Ottawa Senators are finally moving out of their weirdly located arena. Now, there is some new land being prepared closer to downtown for a new arena. [TheScore]
- Matthew and Brady Tkachuk talk about the 2026 Olympics, the upcoming season, the new CBA, and more. [ESPN]