The Vancouver Canucks have made a surprising addition to their scouting staff today, with the team announcing that they’ve hired former NHLer Jack Johnson as a pro-scout. Johnson, a 19-year NHL veteran, has interesting ties to the Canucks’ current management team.
As a solid NHL defender, Johnson put together 77 goals and 265 assists throughout 1228 NHL games. His NHL career spanned the better part of 19 seasons, towards the end of which he won his first Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. He concluded his NHL career in the 2024–25 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, playing in 41 games and tallying six assists.
Johnson was selected third-overall in the 2005 NHL Draft, picked by none-other than current Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford, who was the General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes at that time. Surprisingly enough, Rutherford was also the General Manager who traded Johnson back in 2006, dealing him to the Los Angeles Kings on September 29.
Drafting Johnson to Carolina was not the only time Rutherford re-acquired Johnson, as he also signed the defenceman in free-agency in July of 2018 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Johnson was bought-out by the Penguins in 2020 and currently still counts towards their salary cap.
Vancouver is in the process of embarking on a six-game road trip that will take them across the east coast. Their first game takes place tomorrow against the Buffalo Sabres at 4:00 pm PT. They will take on Johnson's most recent former team, the Blue Jackets, in their last game of the trip on January 15.
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