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Chad Johnson runs with Calgary Flames' starting job
Chad Johnson of the Calgary Flames in action against the Winnipeg Jets during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on December 10, 2016 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Getty Images)
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Calgary Flames goaltender Chad Johnson can’t slow his competitive drive.
In most situations as a professional the 30-year-old Johnson has felt like he’s needed to prove himself to show he belonged, which has ramped up his overall edge as an athlete.
Throughout his career he has stayed the course as an NHL backup with the New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres – with stops in Hartford and Portland in the AHL along the way, all the while burning to get that chance as an everyday player.
“I’ve always had to work for everything. Every game I’ve ever played, every league I’ve ever been in, to get to the next level. I’ve always had to prove it,” Johnson said in a phone interview with Puck Daddy. I’ve never really been handed a starting role or handed a job on a team or anything like that. Sometimes some players get that for whatever reason because they earned it or it’s luck or whatever it is. For me, I’ve always had to earn everything and I always will and I think I’d rather have it that way than be handed situations or things.”
When Johnson signed with the Calgary Flames last summer as a free agent on July 1 to a one-year, $1.7 million contract, it appeared that veteran Brian Elliott – who was acquired by team on June 24 – would be the starter. But Johnson, and the Flames, didn’t see it that way.
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They both believed he was a capable 1a – despite his lack of starter experience – and this overall faith has saved Calgary’s season. Since Nov. 15, when the team started to use Johnson as their No. 1, the Flames have gone 10-3-1. Through 18 games played, Johnson has gone 13-4-1 with a 1.98 goal-against average and .932 save percentage. Elliott has gone 3-9-1 with a 3.31 goal-against average and .885 save percentage. At 16-13-2, the Flames lead the Western Conference Wild Card with 34 points, just one point out of the top three in the Pacific Division.
“When I signed here it wasn’t an easy situation. I knew every team had goaltending and Brian coming in had a great year and was a great goalie, but I talked to (general manager) Brad (Treliving) and he knew my game and he knew what I was capable of,” Johnson said. “He knew I was capable of being a starting goaltender in this league. Again it was the situation and the market and I just wanted to come in there and he knew I was going to come in and compete for playing time and will continue to compete with no matter what happens or where I am or what the situation is in the future. If I’m still here I always will compete with everybody. You have to. That’s a part of the league.”
Despite putting up solid numbers almost everywhere he has played, throughout his career, Johnson has often found himself the victim of organizational goaltending depth.
In 2006, the Pittsburgh Penguins picked Johnson in the fifth-round of the NHL Draft, but he never played a game for the team. In 2009 he was traded to the New York Rangers where he spent most of his time with the team’s minor league affiliate in Hartford and buried behind workhorse Henrik Lundqvist in the NHL. With New York he played just six career NHL games.
In 2012-13, Johnson signed with the Phoenix Coyotes organization, where he was then stuck behind high-priced starter Mike Smith and played four games.
His first solid opportunity came with the Boston Bruins in 2013-14 where he played 27 games and held a 2.10 goal-against average and .925 save percentage. This led to him being signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders in 2014.
But there, Johnson’s progress reversed behind starter Jaroslav Halak and his numbers fell to a 3.08 goal-against average and .889 save percentage in 19 games played. It was tough on Johnson, but he used his time in New York as a learning experience. He figured that if he better advocated himself in the future he could see greater success.
“That year really I think shaped who I was as a player and a person and really gave me the identity I needed and gave me that little extra,” Johnson said. “I think I guess it’s almost selfishness in my own game. I came there and had a great year in Boston. Even years past being called up in the minors and playing great and I’ve always had success before that. It was sort of a wakeup call for myself in the sense that I needed to be a little more selfish in sticking to my game and being a little more vocal in what I needed.”
The Buffalo Sabres, who traded Michal Neuvirth for Johnson in 2015, still believed in him for the 2015-16 season as a backup. Starter Robin Lehner got hurt in the first game of the season, which put him out long-term and opened the door for Johnson to finally have the opportunity to start on a regular basis.
With the Sabres, Johnson went 22-16-4 with a 2.36 goal-against average and .920 save percentage.
“It was a big year for me going to Buffalo and to kind of re-prove myself or solidify myself as an NHL guy,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t a good fit there in Long Island with them so it was a big year to kind of rebound and show that I had the abilities to be a really good goalie in the NHL.”
When Johnson entered last offseason, he was in more of a position of strength to find a solid deal for himself.
Chad Johnson of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save against the New York Rangers during their game at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2016 in New York City. (Getty Images)
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The Flames were in need of goaltending and Treliving, who was the assistant general manager of the Coyotes during Johnson’s time there, had familiarity with the netminder.
“Our guys had seen him for the last number of years. Both our scouts and our goaltending coach,” Treliving said. “There’s a real calm demeanor about him. He’s economical. There’s no overexertion. When he’s at his best he’s real square. There’s little movement in the net. There’s a calmness to him. He was a guy we really liked going into free agency.”
After the Flames traded for Elliott, Treliving moved on Johnson, a Calgary native. Even though Elliott, a former All-Star who had just helped the St. Louis Blues to the Western Conference Final, was externally seen as the starter by those around the team, the Flames said they thought differently.
“For me it was an opportunity to come here and make the organization better. It’s an organization that I had a lot of pride for and a lot of passion for and a GM I trusted and an organization I saw was heading in the right direction too and that I wanted to be a part of,” Johnson said.
The fit for both has been pretty much perfect. Johnson has solidified Calgary’s goaltending while he and his wife have enjoyed returning to the familiarity and comfort of their hometown.
The two got married last offseason while Johnson spoke fondly of his pro hockey journey, which has included joyful memories eating rabbit Bolognese pasta at Mama Maria’s in Boston’s North End, living in Calgary has been the right change of pace for both.
“She has been amazing and it was nice being able to come home,” Johnson said. “She was encouraging me a lot to sign back home because it’s nice for her to have family and friends and a little bit of stability knowing that she’s coming into it to a city she’s comfortable with and she knows some people here and that’s always nice.”
Johnson said he’d love the security of a new contract, but he’s not focused on this solely. Really if he keeps playing this way the Flames – or maybe another team in free agency – will have no choice but to lavish him with a nice new deal.
“As a goalie you want stability and comfort and you want to sort of not think about next year, you know? I’ve been in a situation for a long time with having to deal with one-year contracts. It would always be easier to not have to think about that and get it out of the way,” Johnson said. “For me, I stay focused on playing the game, trying to get as many starts as I can because I want the team to win. I want the responsibility to control that. So my focus has always been day-to-day. That’s out of my hands in the sense of, I don’t deal with that. I have an agent I pay a lot of money to take care of that”
While he’d enjoy an All-Star Game appearance in Los Angeles, which seems likely in the Pacific Division at the moment, that can’t be his focus if he wants to keep up his current play. In fact, he hasn’t even thought of such a situation because it seemed so far-fetched as recently as a month ago.
“My mind isn’t really on that. If it happens, it happens. It’s an honor to represent your team and be a part of that with all the other great players, but it still has yet to be – we can talk about if I do actually get or if I get any talk about it then but I don’t try to look too far ahead,” Johnson said. “Whether it’s All-Star Game or playoffs or contracts or whatever else, it’s a little useless talking about it right now because who knows if it’s even going to happen.”
Chad Johnson of the Calgary Flames in action against the Winnipeg Jets during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on December 10, 2016 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Getty Images)
More
Calgary Flames goaltender Chad Johnson can’t slow his competitive drive.
In most situations as a professional the 30-year-old Johnson has felt like he’s needed to prove himself to show he belonged, which has ramped up his overall edge as an athlete.
Throughout his career he has stayed the course as an NHL backup with the New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres – with stops in Hartford and Portland in the AHL along the way, all the while burning to get that chance as an everyday player.
“I’ve always had to work for everything. Every game I’ve ever played, every league I’ve ever been in, to get to the next level. I’ve always had to prove it,” Johnson said in a phone interview with Puck Daddy. I’ve never really been handed a starting role or handed a job on a team or anything like that. Sometimes some players get that for whatever reason because they earned it or it’s luck or whatever it is. For me, I’ve always had to earn everything and I always will and I think I’d rather have it that way than be handed situations or things.”
When Johnson signed with the Calgary Flames last summer as a free agent on July 1 to a one-year, $1.7 million contract, it appeared that veteran Brian Elliott – who was acquired by team on June 24 – would be the starter. But Johnson, and the Flames, didn’t see it that way.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest now]
They both believed he was a capable 1a – despite his lack of starter experience – and this overall faith has saved Calgary’s season. Since Nov. 15, when the team started to use Johnson as their No. 1, the Flames have gone 10-3-1. Through 18 games played, Johnson has gone 13-4-1 with a 1.98 goal-against average and .932 save percentage. Elliott has gone 3-9-1 with a 3.31 goal-against average and .885 save percentage. At 16-13-2, the Flames lead the Western Conference Wild Card with 34 points, just one point out of the top three in the Pacific Division.
“When I signed here it wasn’t an easy situation. I knew every team had goaltending and Brian coming in had a great year and was a great goalie, but I talked to (general manager) Brad (Treliving) and he knew my game and he knew what I was capable of,” Johnson said. “He knew I was capable of being a starting goaltender in this league. Again it was the situation and the market and I just wanted to come in there and he knew I was going to come in and compete for playing time and will continue to compete with no matter what happens or where I am or what the situation is in the future. If I’m still here I always will compete with everybody. You have to. That’s a part of the league.”
Despite putting up solid numbers almost everywhere he has played, throughout his career, Johnson has often found himself the victim of organizational goaltending depth.
In 2006, the Pittsburgh Penguins picked Johnson in the fifth-round of the NHL Draft, but he never played a game for the team. In 2009 he was traded to the New York Rangers where he spent most of his time with the team’s minor league affiliate in Hartford and buried behind workhorse Henrik Lundqvist in the NHL. With New York he played just six career NHL games.
In 2012-13, Johnson signed with the Phoenix Coyotes organization, where he was then stuck behind high-priced starter Mike Smith and played four games.
His first solid opportunity came with the Boston Bruins in 2013-14 where he played 27 games and held a 2.10 goal-against average and .925 save percentage. This led to him being signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders in 2014.
But there, Johnson’s progress reversed behind starter Jaroslav Halak and his numbers fell to a 3.08 goal-against average and .889 save percentage in 19 games played. It was tough on Johnson, but he used his time in New York as a learning experience. He figured that if he better advocated himself in the future he could see greater success.
“That year really I think shaped who I was as a player and a person and really gave me the identity I needed and gave me that little extra,” Johnson said. “I think I guess it’s almost selfishness in my own game. I came there and had a great year in Boston. Even years past being called up in the minors and playing great and I’ve always had success before that. It was sort of a wakeup call for myself in the sense that I needed to be a little more selfish in sticking to my game and being a little more vocal in what I needed.”
The Buffalo Sabres, who traded Michal Neuvirth for Johnson in 2015, still believed in him for the 2015-16 season as a backup. Starter Robin Lehner got hurt in the first game of the season, which put him out long-term and opened the door for Johnson to finally have the opportunity to start on a regular basis.
With the Sabres, Johnson went 22-16-4 with a 2.36 goal-against average and .920 save percentage.
“It was a big year for me going to Buffalo and to kind of re-prove myself or solidify myself as an NHL guy,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t a good fit there in Long Island with them so it was a big year to kind of rebound and show that I had the abilities to be a really good goalie in the NHL.”
When Johnson entered last offseason, he was in more of a position of strength to find a solid deal for himself.
Chad Johnson of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save against the New York Rangers during their game at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2016 in New York City. (Getty Images)
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The Flames were in need of goaltending and Treliving, who was the assistant general manager of the Coyotes during Johnson’s time there, had familiarity with the netminder.
“Our guys had seen him for the last number of years. Both our scouts and our goaltending coach,” Treliving said. “There’s a real calm demeanor about him. He’s economical. There’s no overexertion. When he’s at his best he’s real square. There’s little movement in the net. There’s a calmness to him. He was a guy we really liked going into free agency.”
After the Flames traded for Elliott, Treliving moved on Johnson, a Calgary native. Even though Elliott, a former All-Star who had just helped the St. Louis Blues to the Western Conference Final, was externally seen as the starter by those around the team, the Flames said they thought differently.
“For me it was an opportunity to come here and make the organization better. It’s an organization that I had a lot of pride for and a lot of passion for and a GM I trusted and an organization I saw was heading in the right direction too and that I wanted to be a part of,” Johnson said.
The fit for both has been pretty much perfect. Johnson has solidified Calgary’s goaltending while he and his wife have enjoyed returning to the familiarity and comfort of their hometown.
The two got married last offseason while Johnson spoke fondly of his pro hockey journey, which has included joyful memories eating rabbit Bolognese pasta at Mama Maria’s in Boston’s North End, living in Calgary has been the right change of pace for both.
“She has been amazing and it was nice being able to come home,” Johnson said. “She was encouraging me a lot to sign back home because it’s nice for her to have family and friends and a little bit of stability knowing that she’s coming into it to a city she’s comfortable with and she knows some people here and that’s always nice.”
Johnson said he’d love the security of a new contract, but he’s not focused on this solely. Really if he keeps playing this way the Flames – or maybe another team in free agency – will have no choice but to lavish him with a nice new deal.
“As a goalie you want stability and comfort and you want to sort of not think about next year, you know? I’ve been in a situation for a long time with having to deal with one-year contracts. It would always be easier to not have to think about that and get it out of the way,” Johnson said. “For me, I stay focused on playing the game, trying to get as many starts as I can because I want the team to win. I want the responsibility to control that. So my focus has always been day-to-day. That’s out of my hands in the sense of, I don’t deal with that. I have an agent I pay a lot of money to take care of that”
While he’d enjoy an All-Star Game appearance in Los Angeles, which seems likely in the Pacific Division at the moment, that can’t be his focus if he wants to keep up his current play. In fact, he hasn’t even thought of such a situation because it seemed so far-fetched as recently as a month ago.
“My mind isn’t really on that. If it happens, it happens. It’s an honor to represent your team and be a part of that with all the other great players, but it still has yet to be – we can talk about if I do actually get or if I get any talk about it then but I don’t try to look too far ahead,” Johnson said. “Whether it’s All-Star Game or playoffs or contracts or whatever else, it’s a little useless talking about it right now because who knows if it’s even going to happen.”
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