Former Los Angeles Kings veteran defenseman Jack Johnson will get a shot to make the roster with the Minnesota Wild in the Central Division, according to news from the team earlier this week. Johnson will be 38 years old at the start of the 2025-26 NHL regular season, and he's played for six teams in his pro career (not including the Wild).
The Wild announced on an official release from the team on Aug. 11 that they signed Johnson to a professional tryout deal late this offseason.
Ex-Los Angeles Kings blue-liner Jack Johnson gets a shot to make a roster in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild for 2025
Johnson spent this past season playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metro Division. He had six points and six assists in 41 regular season games played with the Blue Jackets this past season in the 2024-25 campaign.
Before joining the Blue Jackets on a one-year deal last offseason, Johnson spent a couple of seasons playing for the Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks in the early 2020s. He scored three goals and had 16 points in 80 games played as a member of the Avs, a team that made the postseason in the West, a couple of seasons ago in 2023-24.
Johnson has also played for the Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Rangers in his long-spanning NHL career that is nearly two decades long going into the 2025-26 season.
The Kings acquired Johnson after he was selected third overall in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He spent eight seasons playing with the Kings at the beginning of his NHL career, playing alongside some of the best defensemen in franchise history, including Drew Doughty and Rob Blake.
Later in his career with the Avs, Johnson would his first Stanley Cup ring in Colorado in the 2022 playoffs. He played over 80 games between the regular season and in the postseason for the Avs Cup-winning squad a few years ago.