With defenseman Jonas Brodin expected to miss the start of the season after offseason surgery on an upper-body injury, the Minnesota Wild signed veteran Jack Johnson to a professional tryout Monday. If the 38-year-old earns a contract for the Wild or signs elsewhere as a free agent, it’ll be his 20th NHL season.
Johnson, Sidney Crosby’s former teammate at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in nearby Faribault, Minn., is only the second player signed to a PTO in the Bill Guerin era. Drew Stafford signed one in 2019 but was released toward the end of camp.
Guerin, who signed a PTO with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 before being released and retiring two months later, typically doesn’t believe in PTOs unless there’s a clear shot for a veteran to make the team. He doesn’t want to lead them astray if there’s little chance.
But with Brodin hurt, Zeev Buium only 19 and fellow first-round pick Carson Lambos, 22, yet to make his NHL debut, Johnson will provide some depth on the left side of the blue line if needed by the end of camp. Jake Middleton and Buium, who is expected to make the team but must earn a spot, are the only Wild left-shot blueliners heading into camp after Declan Chisholm was traded to the Washington Capitals in June.
Johnson returned to Columbus, where he played from 2012 to 2018, last season and played 41 games. Overall, Johnson has skated in 1,228 games, scoring 77 goals and 342 points for the L.A. Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks. He won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022 and a silver medal with Team USA at the 2010 Olympics.
(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Aug 11, 2025Connections: Sports Edition
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