Tyler Johnson (born July 29, 1990) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
player currently playing for the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL). Johnson won back-to-back
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
championships with the
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
and
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
.
Playing career
Junior
Johnson was selected by the
Spokane Chiefs
The Spokane Chiefs are a major junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League based out of Spokane, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. Their uniforms are similar to those of the NHL's Montreal Canadi ...
with their 11th-round pick in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft.
In his first season with this team, in
2007–08, he appeared in 69 regular season games, scoring 13 goals and 29 assists. The Chiefs won the
Ed Chynoweth Cup
The Ed Chynoweth Cup is an ice hockey club championship trophy awarded to the playoff champion of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Originally called the President's Cup when the league was founded in 1966, the trophy was renamed in 2007 to honou ...
that season as the league's champions. The Chiefs subsequently earned a berth in the
2008 Memorial Cup
The 2008 Memorial Cup was played in May 2008 in Kitchener, Ontario at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, Memorial Auditorium. It was the 90th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey cham ...
, where they defeated the
Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...
by a score of 4–1. Johnson played in all 21 playoff games, scoring five goals and adding three assists. He was named the WHL playoffs' Most Valuable Player as a 17-year-old rookie.
In the
2008–09 season, he played in 62 games, scoring 26 goals and 35 assists for 61 points and adding another five goals and three assists in 12 playoff games. The
2009–10 season saw Johnson's numbers improve, as he tallied 36 goals and 35 assists in 64 games. He also added three goals and five assists in seven playoff games.
Johnson's
2010–11 season proved to be his best yet as he became the 15th Chiefs' member of all-time to hit the century mark (100 points), with 53 goals and 62 assists, making him the leading goal scorer and second-leading points scorer in the WHL. He ultimately finished the season with career highs in goals (53), assists (62) and points (115), while also leading the team in power play and shorthanded goals and ranking third with a plus-27 ranking. He was named Player of the Month for the WHL for December 2010. He was also voted as the Best Overage Player, Top Defensive Forward, Best Skater, and Top Faceoff Man, second in Most Valuable to Team, and third in Most Accurate Shot in the Best of the West 2011 poll.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Johnson signed a three-year entry-level contract with the
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
in March 2011. Johnson's smaller size is known to be the reason he went undrafted.
Johnson played the
2011–12 season with the
Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises:
* Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015
*Norfolk Admirals (ECHL)
The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...
, the Lightning's top
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
(AHL) affiliate. In March, he went on a 13-game scoring streak, including back-to-back two goal games, the longest streak by an AHL rookie in more than six years. This streak helped him earn the Reebok/AHL Player of the Month award for March 2012. Tyler Johnson was a key player in the Norfolk Admirals record winning streak of 28 games, which is a professional hockey league record. He was also a key player in Norfolk's first ever Calder Cup that Season.
In the
2012–13 season, Johnson would play the majority his time with Lightning's new AHL affiliate, the
Syracuse Crunch
The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...
. He would go on to lead the AHL in goals scored and named the
regular season MVP. At the end of the season he was awarded the
President's Award for outstanding accomplishments on the ice. Johnson and the
Syracuse Crunch
The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...
went on to go to the finals and would eventually lose to the
Grand Rapids Griffins
The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey, hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National H ...
On March 14, 2013, he was called up by the Lightning and made his NHL debut against the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
. He would score his first NHL goal in his second game on March 16 against the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
.
In his rookie NHL season with the Lightning in
2013–14, Johnson established himself on Tampa Bay's top offensive line and finished the season with 24 goals and 26 assists for 50 points in 82 games. He was selected as a NHL
Calder Memorial Trophy
The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...
nominee for the league's top rookie. The trophy, however, eventually went to
Nathan MacKinnon
Nathan Raymond MacKinnon (born September 1, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). MacKinnon was selected first overall by the Avalanche in the 201 ...
of the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...
, though Johnson was named to the
NHL All-Rookie Team
The NHL All-Rookie Team is chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association from the best rookies in the National Hockey League at each position for the season just concluded based on their performance in that year. The team was first named a ...
.
The following season,
2014–15, Johnson followed up his breakout season in the NHL by scoring 29 goals and 43 assists for a total of 72 points in 77 games with the Lightning, finishing 15th overall in points in the League. He also finished third in the NHL in plus-minus rating of +33 for the season, also being chosen for the
2014–15 NHL All-Star Game. On April 27, 2015, during the
2015 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 15, 2015, and ended on June 15, 2015, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning four games to two in the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.
The New York ...
, Johnson became the first player in Lightning history to record three multi-goal games in a single playoff series. He also tied
Ruslan Fedotenko
Ruslan Viktorovych Fedotenko ( uk, Руслан Вікторович Федотенко; born 18 January 1979) is a Ukrainian former professional ice hockey winger.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion, in his National Hockey League (NHL) career he ...
for the Lightning single series goals record, with six. On May 20, 2015, Johnson tied
Ruslan Fedotenko
Ruslan Viktorovych Fedotenko ( uk, Руслан Вікторович Федотенко; born 18 January 1979) is a Ukrainian former professional ice hockey winger.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion, in his National Hockey League (NHL) career he ...
for most post-season goals in Lightning history. On May 18, Johnson became the first Lightning player to score a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
in the playoffs, as well as the first to score a
short-handed
Short-handed is a term used in ice hockey and several related sports, including water polo, and refers to having fewer skaters (players) on the ice during play, as a result of a penalty. The player removed from play serves the penalty in the pen ...
and
power play
Power play or powerplay or their plurals may refer to:
Sports
* Power play (sporting term), a sporting term used in various games
* Powerplay (cricket), a rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international cricket
* Power play (cur ...
goal in a single playoff period. He also set the Lightning multi-goal game record for the playoffs with his fourth of the 2015 playoffs. On June 6, Johnson scored his 13th goal of the playoffs, the highest output in a single playoff year by a Tampa Bay player. Early in the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, Johnson suffered a broken wrist, but he continued to play through the injury. However, this prevented him from taking faceoffs, and limited his production to just one goal.
On November 15, 2016, Johnson recorded his 100th career NHL assist. The assist came in a 4–3 Lightning win against the
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
at
Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to TCF Center, Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Lou ...
. On February 19, 2017, Johnson recorded his 200th career NHL point against the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...
at
American Airlines Center
The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association and the Dallas S ...
. On February 23, 2017, Johnson played in 300th career NHL game.
On July 10, 2017, Johnson signed a seven-year, $35 million contract extension with the Lightning, worth $5 million annually. On October 24, 2017, Johnson recorded his 93rd career goal in a Lightning uniform, which moved him past
Ryan Malone
Ryan Gregory Malone (born December 1, 1979) nicknamed "Bugsy", is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. In 2003, ...
for 10th most goals in franchise history. The goal came in a 5–1 Lightning win over the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
at
PNC Arena
PNC Arena (originally Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena and formerly the RBC Center) is an indoor arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The arena seats 18,680 for ice hockey and 19,722 for basketball, including 61 suites, 13 loge boxes an ...
. On December 29, 2017, Johnson recorded his 99th career NHL goal, which moved him past
Chris Gratton
Christopher Allan Gratton (born July 5, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the cousin of Josh Gratton, who had also briefly played in ...
for 9th most goals in Lightning history. On December 31, 2017, Johnson recorded his 100th career NHL goal in a 5–0 win over the
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
at
Nationwide Arena
Nationwide Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Since completion in 2000, the arena has served as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is one of two facilities in Columbus, alon ...
. On March 22, 2018, Johnson recorded his 260th career NHL point. The point moved Johnson past Chris Gratton for 10th most points in Lightning history. On October 16, 2018, Johnson recorded his 4th career regular season hat trick to help the Lightning to a 4–2 win over the visiting
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
. Johnson's second goal of the night moved him past
Brian Bradley for 8th most goals in franchise history with 112. On December 29, 2018, Johnson scored his 128th goal to move past
Vaclav Prospal for 7th most goals in Lightning history.
On December 28, 2019, Johnson skated in his 500th career NHL game. On January 29, 2020, Johnson recorded his 151st career NHL goal to move past
Brad Richards
Bradley Glen Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Lightning, New York Ra ...
for 5th all time in Lightning history.
On September 28, 2020, Johnson became the first
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
area native to win the Stanley Cup, as the Lightning defeated the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...
4-2 in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Chicago Blackhawks
On July 27, 2021, Johnson was traded to the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
, along with a second-round pick in
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
, in exchange for the contract of
Brent Seabrook
Brent Seabrook (born April 20, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman under contract for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played fifteen seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks, who selected him ...
. Johnson missed much of
2021–22 campaign after sustaining a neck injury that required surgery and later suffering a concussion.
He appeared in only 26 games for the Blackhawks, tallying only three goals and four assists, while maintaining a 60.8 faceoff percentage.
International play
Johnson has also excelled in international competition, helping the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to the gold medal at the
2010 World Junior Championships in Canada, recording three goals and five points with a plus-4 rating in seven games. He was named player of the game in their first-round game against
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Personal life
Tyler Johnson grew up in the Spokane suburb of
Liberty Lake, Washington
Liberty Lake is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States located adjacent to the eponymous lake. Located just over a mile (about 2 km) west of the Washington–Idaho border, Liberty Lake is both a suburb of Spokane, Washington and a ...
, where he graduated from
Central Valley High School with honors. His parents, Ken and Debbie Johnson, met playing a rec-league hockey game at Spokane’s Eagle’s Ice-A-Rena. His mother Debbie was a skating coach who taught Tyler how to skate.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Bold indicates led league
International
Awards and honors
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Tyler
1990 births
Living people
American men's ice hockey centers
Chicago Blackhawks players
Ice hockey people from Washington (state)
Memorial Cup winners
National Hockey League All-Stars
Norfolk Admirals players
Spokane Chiefs players
Sportspeople from Spokane, Washington
Stanley Cup champions
Syracuse Crunch players
Tampa Bay Lightning players
Undrafted National Hockey League players