As he showed for the Dallas Stars during his NHL debut against the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that traded him to Dallas on July 10, 2015, Johns is a rugged defenseman who can be an intimidating presence on the ice.

Johns had three hits and three blocked shots in that 5-2 Dallas victory March 11, 2016. He finished the 2015-16 season with a goal and two assists in 14 games. The goal came March 17, 2016, in a 4-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he signed a two-year contract the next day.

Johns played in all 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Stars that season. He became an NHL regular in 2016-17, playing 61 games and leading Dallas with 159 hits. He scored 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 2017-18 before issues related to a concussion sustained on March 29, 2018, forced him to miss all of the 2018-19 season and the first 3 1/2 months of 2019-20. Johns returned on Jan. 18, 2020, and played 17 games, scoring two goals and five points.

A sound positional defenseman, Johns was a second-round pick of the Blackhawks (No. 60) in the 2010 NHL Draft after playing two seasons in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

He played four seasons at the University of Notre Dame, scoring 15 goals and 57 points in 164 games, and helped the Fighting Irish win the 2013 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament title.

A native of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, Johns earned second-team Hockey East All-Star honors as well as a spot on the Hockey East All-Tournament team as a senior at Notre Dame in 2013-14.

Johns won a gold medal with the United States at the 2010 IIHF Under-18 World Championship and was a member of the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship team that finished seventh.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• Hockey East Second All-Star Team (2014)
• Traded to Dallas by Chicago with Patrick Sharp for Trevor Daley and Ryan Garbutt, July 10, 2015.