Steven Stamkos might be the face of the franchise for a generation of Tampa Bay Lightning fans, but no one embodied the underdog nature of the most recent string of success for our non-traditional hockey market than Tyler Johnson. On Monday, the former Bolt forward called it a career.
Johnson signed with the organization as a free agent back in 2011 after putting up 282 points (128 goals, 154 assists) in 266 career games for the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL. Despite the impressive offensive numbers, an U20 World Juniors Gold Medal, a WHL scoring title, a WHL playoff MVP award, and a Memorial Cup, he went undrafted. Why? Because he wasn’t 6’2″ and 200 lbs.
The success didn’t stop once he hit the pros. In 2011-12 he was a huge part of the Norfolk Admirals team that ripped off a record-setting 28 game winning streak on the way to a Calder Cup championship. Coached by a young man named Jon Cooper, that team featured future household names Ondrej Palat, Cory Conacher, Radko Gudas, Richard Panik, and Alex Killorn (who debuted at the end of the regular season and then put up 12 points in the playoffs). Johnson was at the forefront of their offense, finishing his rookie season in the AHL with 31 goals and 37 points.
Along with the rest of the team, he moved to Syracuse as the Lightning changed affiliations. He had another strong season with the Crunch, putting up 65 points (37 goals, 28 assists) in 62 games. Why only 62? Because he made his NHL debut with 14 games for the Lightning. The TampaCuse invasion was underway.
His first full season in the NHL saw him put up 50 points (24 goals, 26 assists) in 82 games. He finished third in the Calder Trophy voting behind Nathan MacKinnon and teammate Ondrej Palat. Not bad for someone who was passed over several times by every team in the league. Things got even better the next season as the Triplet Line was born. While first composed of Johnson, Palat, and Panik, another rookie would play his way onto the trio. Some guy named Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning rode the tidal wave of youth all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where heartbreak ensued in a six-game loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Could things have turned out differently if Johnson hadn’t suffered a broken wrist in the series? After putting up 72 points (29 goals, 43 assists) in the regular season, and another 21 points (12 goals, 9 assists) through the first three rounds of the playoffs, he was held to just a goal and an assist against the Blackhawks. A groin tear to Ben Bishop, and an upper-body injury to Nikita Kucherov after he slammed into the goalpost didn’t help either, but it was the loss of Johnson’s scoring (and face-off ability) that really made an already uphill battle too steep for the Bolts.
Johnson kept the production going over the next couple years as an effective second-line center for the Bolts, churning out 40-50 points a year during his healthy seasons. Injuries started to pile up, as did the pressure following a 7-year, $35 million contract signed in the summer of 2017 (which sounds like a heck of a deal for a 50-point guy these days).
Despite seeing his ice time start to dwindle as the years went on, he was a key part of the Stanley Cup teams as he appeared in all 48 postseason games during their back-to-back Cup-winning seasons. Seeing, Johnson, Palat, Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman all raise the Cup put a nice little bow on that era of Lightning players that had come through the system as youngsters, and withstood the heartbreak and doubt that came with multiple trips to the Conference Finals that ended in defeat.
The end to his Lightning tenure wasn’t as fulfilling. Carrying a $5 million cap hit while seeing his role on the team diminish, the final summer with the Bolts was rough and eventually ended with him getting traded to Chicago along with a second-round pick for Brent Seabrooks’ contract (the Blackhawks defender was on long-term injured relief, and the deal freed up much needed cap space.
If it had just been a trade right after the season ended, that would have been one thing. But the speculation of the deal lingered for almost an entire year. Prior to the 2020-21 season, after a long summer of trying to trade him, the Lightning put Johnson on waivers, which allowed any team to claim him for just the price of his contract. There were no takers.
He would spend three seasons in Chicago, playing the role of veteran for a rebuilding organization. Injuries deprived him of some games, but he had back-to-back 30+ point seasons for them as well as an emotional return to the Tampa in what was Coach Cooper’s 700th career game coached for the Bolts.
We’ll let Geo’s words from the article linked above talk about his legacy when he left Tampa,
“On a more personal note, it’s sad to see Johnson go. Johnson was the third entry level contract that Steve Yzerman signed after taking the job as Lightning General Manager. Johnson was a part of a Calder Cup Championship in Norfolk. His name is etched in the Cup twice. He leaves the team 7th in games played, 5th in goals, 9th in assists, 9th in points, and the only player in Lightning history to score a hat trick in the playoffs.
Johnson carried the team in a playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings. He centered the famed Triplets line of 2014-15. He sacrificed for this team, especially this past year when the team tried to move him, failed, and ended up keeping him on the way to a back-to-back Stanley Cup Championship. He was a true professional and handled himself with class.
I’ll miss you Johnny B. Goode.”
