Kukla's Korner Hockey
Jack Johnson’s Play Rubbing Off On The Blue Jackets
by Paul on 03/10/12 at 11:34 AM ET
Comments (6)
from Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch,
Johnson is no Jeremy Lin. He plays for a last-place team in Columbus. David Letterman’s people are not on line 2.
But there is no denying the minor mania that has followed his arrival after he was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings last month for center Jeff Carter.
On Thursday, when Johnson got the winning goal against Carter and the Kings to push the Blue Jackets’ winning streak to four games, a Nationwide Arena crowd erupted as it has so few times during the most trying season in franchise history.
But to get excited about Johnson is to get excited about the future. Johnson, a former U.S. Olympian, is under contract through 2018.
“He’s energized,” goaltender Curtis Sanford said. “He wants to be here. Columbus is a great market to play in and I love playing here, but he’s really shown what it means to him to play here, and that’s rubbing off on other guys.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: jack+johnson
Comments
Unfortunately, Columbus fans will soon see the “real” Jack Johnson: a talented skater whose focus on offense often leaves him out of position, one step behind the forward, and making erratic passes that lead to high-percentage chances. Jack has talent and potential - there is no question about that. The problem is motivation and willingness to work on those areas where he is lacking. I wish him the best of luck but multiple years of sub-par defense (increasing minus ratings) does not bode well for him.
Posted by scooter from Los Angeles on 03/10/12 at 05:36 PM ET
Unfortunately, Columbus fans will soon see the “real” Jack Johnson: a talented skater whose focus on offense often leaves him out of position, one step behind the forward, and making erratic passes that lead to high-percentage chances.
Posted by scooter from Los Angeles on 03/10/12 at 02:36 PM ET
I totally agree. He has no sense whatsoever defensively.
HOWEVER… CBS’s back end is so bad that even that is a huge improvement. He can skate and move the puck. That’s a huge shot in the arm to their blueline, regardless of liabilities because everyone else there is already full of liabilities and still can’t do what he can.
He may have found the one team where he actually makes the team better.
Posted by Primis on 03/10/12 at 06:08 PM ET
BTW, I still agree too that Red Berenson screwed Johnson up by letting him do as he wished. He never taught him to play defense…
Posted by Primis on 03/10/12 at 06:10 PM ET
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The “more” link is not working correctly. In case you want to read the rest, here it is Jack Johnson Story
Posted by gretzky_to_lemieux on 03/10/12 at 11:52 AM ET