Kent Johnson would probably love nothing more than to forget the 2023-24 Columbus Blue Jackets season.
Despite a solid 22-23 season that saw him post 40 points in 79 games, Johnson had a subpar training camp and did not make the active roster on Opening Night, managed only 42 appearances for the senior club with 16 points (he posted 5-10-15 in 10 games for the Cleveland Monsters), and missed the final six weeks of the year with an injury suffered on the final faceoff of the February 28th game against the New York Rangers following an empty net goal.
The absolute worst of all worlds.
Kent Johnson did not make the most of his opportunities for Columbus this past season, but frequently, his usage, linemates, and up-and-down, healthy scratching made less than zero sense. He might not be the most defensively responsible forward, but for the team that was 25th in the league in goals scored on the year, Johnson’s offensive talent could have helped. Both coaching staff, new hockey operations staff, and player must agree on what the future looks like, and work to develop with a cohesive plan. Nothing about last season was cohesive or planned for Johnson, and none of the involved parties can afford another wasted season.
2023-24 Stats
Games: 42
Goals: 6
Assists: 10
Points: 16
Plus/Minus: -2
PIM: 10
5v5 Corsi%: 48.1
5v5 Fenwick%: 48.7
Off Zone Start %: 56.8
Contract
Kent Johnson is an RFA this summer. He carries a qualifying offer of $874,125. He is one of a multitude of young Blue Jackets that need new contracts this summer.
High Point
Kent Johnson’s only multi-goal game of the year broke the heart of many Toronto Maple Leafs fans. The Jackets, shockingly, blew a third period lead (though this was a 5 goal lead that evaporated) before Johnson scored the overtime winner in Scotiabank Arena.
Low Point
Is it overkill to say the healthy scratch on Opening Night? Kent Johnson, better than a 0.5 point per game player as a rookie, had such an abysmal camp that the head coach elected to healthy scratch him in favor of less-talented players. One can argue that the bad camp set Johnson off on a path that knocked him sideways for the entire season before his year was cut short due to injury.
Report Card
D
It’s hard to argue that this season was anything but Dreadful for Johnson. His camp set him behind the eight ball, he could not regularly find the lineup, he scored 16 total points in fewer minutes per game than he averaged as a rookie, contributed nothing to the power play that was already abysmal, and his season was ended by injury following an empty netter on the last faceoff of a game in late February.
Hard to imagine a worse sophomore season.