Johnson was reunited with Sidney Crosby, a longtime friend from their prep school days as teammates at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, when he signed a five-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2018.
The Carolina Hurricanes selected Johnson with the No. 3 pick of the 2005 NHL Draft after the Penguins chose Crosby No. 1. After spending the 2005-06 season at the University of Michigan, where he set a school freshman record for points with 32 (10 goals, 22 assists), Johnson was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Sept. 29, 2006.
Johnson was reunited with Sidney Crosby, a longtime friend from their prep school days as teammates at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, when he signed a five-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2018.
The Carolina Hurricanes selected Johnson with the No. 3 pick of the 2005 NHL Draft after the Penguins chose Crosby No. 1. After spending the 2005-06 season at the University of Michigan, where he set a school freshman record for points with 32 (10 goals, 22 assists), Johnson was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Sept. 29, 2006.
Johnson played another season at Michigan, where he ranked second among defensemen with 16 goals, and was named the CCHA's Best Offensive Defenseman, before making NHL debut with the Kings on March 29, 2007, against the Vancouver Canucks.
The next season, after scoring 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 74 games and averaging 21:42 of ice time, Johnson was voted the team's Best Newcomer and Outstanding Defenseman.
Johnson ranked first or second among Kings defensemen in points in three of the next four seasons, including 2011-12, when he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 23, 2012.
Johnson scored 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 21 games for Columbus, and had 33 points (five goals 28 assists) in 82 games in 2013-14, when he led the Blue Jackets with seven points (three goals) during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
He became more defense-oriented with the Blue Jackets, regularly ranking among their leading hitters and shot blockers. Johnson finished first among Columbus defensemen in hits (180) and blocks (127) in 2013-14 and was first in blocks (131) in 2014-15.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- CCHA All-Rookie Team (2006)
- CCHA First All-Star Team (2007)
- NCAA West First All-American Team (2007)
- Traded to Los Angeles by Carolina with Oleg Tverdovsky for Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason, September 29, 2006.
- Traded to Columbus by Los Angeles with Los Angeles' 1st round pick (Marko Dano) in 2013 NHL Draft for Jeff Carter, February 23, 2012.
- Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh, July 1, 2018.
- Signed as a free agent by NY Rangers, October 9, 2020.
- Signed as a free agent by Colorado, October 10, 2021.
