According to TSN's Darren Dreger, Jack Johnson's father has approached a Russian team about his son playing there next year, rather than re-sign with the Kings.
Johnson's name has come up as a potential bargaining chip if the Kings pursue Vincent Lecavalier, but once again he isn't making it easy on the team that owns his rights.
(For the uninitiated, the Hurricanes took Johnson third overall in 2005, then traded him the next fall for Tim Gleason and Eric Belanger when he insisted on returning to Michigan for his sophomore season.)
I had an interesting chat with Barry Smith, who is the head coach of SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL - and he said Johnson's father, Jack Johnson Sr., contacted St. Petersburg prior to the World Hockey Championship to see if the team would have interest in signing his son to a one-year contract.
Smith said he would have interest in Johnson, and believes he can make the defenceman a better player.
It is believed there is some unhappiness from Johnson's camp, as the young blueliner is a restricted free agent. While Smith has not heard back from Jack Johnson Sr., it is a possibility.
Meanwhile, in completely unrelated news, Gleason's dad has been taking time off from his job to follow the Hurricanes in the playoffs.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at (919) 829-8947, @LukeDeCock on Twitter or
Comments
If I was
Wed, 05/20/2009 - 11:03 — Hockeydogthe Kings, I'd trade his rights for a bag of pucks. Johnson is only one of a tremendous core of young defensemen the Kings have. That team is up and coming, I predict they will be next seasons Blackhawks with the right care this off-season. No need for a little prick to mess with that.
Agreed
Thu, 05/21/2009 - 03:19 — hctimo787I'm interested to see what the Kings will do next year too. I think they'll surprise a lot of people, but it won't surprise any of us if Willie is a big piece of the puzzle (which he undoubtedly would be).
JJ any relation to?
Wed, 05/20/2009 - 10:46 — Hockeydad92Todd Marinovich
Thank God JR had his #.
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 22:25 — gf101112How funny is this??? I agree with hockeyhick, the Canes won BIG on that deal! I sent John & Tripp 6 Jack Johnson LA Kings promotional pucks a few weeks ago and told them to give 1 to JR, and 1 to Tim Gleason!!! Can anyone tell me what happened to these items!!! Canes in 5!!! GO CANIACS!!! GO CANES!!! Tim Gleason ROCKS!!! Scotty Walker ROCKS!!! So. Cal Caniac.
Goobers???
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 21:43 — kcljarAnd the folks up North call us goobers??? The further away the Johson's get from us, the better off we are.
JR's Fault
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 21:01 — JRs_Faultyet another move for which JR was originally bashed that has turned out just fine (and even better if JJ takes off to the KHL).
JR has always said he'd rather have a Dman in the 24-27 age range (read mature/developed) than pay out those early years on an entry level contract to see what you might have.
And here
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 18:43 — esteban1949I thought Parents who love their children wouldn't try and cut their throat like dad seems to be trying to do...being a better defense man is like playing the piano...the more you practice the better you can get...or was that to get to Carnage hall you got to practice,practice,practice...hmmm
Go Canes !!
JR = genius
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 18:27 — hctimo787This is more proof that JR is the best in the business. His ability to judge a player's character is brilliant and he has proven that character and heart reap more benefits than talent alone.
We inadvertantly acquired Walker through this trade and you can't say enough good things about Scotty, but with Gleason alone, we won this deal. Gleason has good hockey smarts, is an excellent defender, loves his team and teammates, and is willing to put it all on the line for the betterment of the team. JJ has been nothing but a Broadway Musical gone wrong ever since he had a name in the league. Good riddance.
Gleason > JJ
Buy yourself a heavy coat JJ.
hmm
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 17:05 — SunSeems dad is a little flaky.
Say it isn't so...
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 16:55 — hurricanes17Could it be that Daddy Johnson cannot bear the thought of his son being used as trade fodder, potentially ending up on the roster of the (*gasp* Dare I say it?) lowly Southeast Division Tampa Bay Lightning? I am thrilled that Rutherford had the wisdom and foresight to wash his hands of the Johnson saga. I would take a content, tough-minded, hard-working Gleason (and his supportive father) over JJ and his dictator dad any day.
Jack Johnson
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 16:34 — schelle92I am so glad he turned out to be such a pain because we got Tim Gleason in return. He's been a much better player and a better fit for this team than JJ could have ever been. Thanks Jack, we love our Gleason!
That trade looks better all the time....
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 16:26 — MrKnockoffSo we've still got tim gleason, who has turned out to be a pretty good dman; not to mention by getting belanger, we got to use him as a bargaining chip to get one more look at Joe Vasicek before he disappeared! Yay Jack!!
Yet another trade
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 16:23 — hockeyhickthat was highly questioned at the time, but has ended up a big "win" for Rutherford. My gut is he (JR) had a feeling it would be difficult to deal with Johnson & Johnson on a long-term basis. The kid has tons of upside, but "upside" is only valuable when you can actually stay on the ice to realize it. I don't think anyone can argue that Gleason is a great fit on the Canes. And, in a round-about way, this deal led to acquisition of Scott Walker (Belanger for Vasicek, Vasicek for Walker.) Yeah, I'd say we won that deal.
can you say.....
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 16:08 — louis12580Eric Lindros? I know we don't know all of the particulars, by this guy seems to be doing everything in his power to ruins his son's career as well as his reputation. Sad.
Good point Louis. It
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 21:37 — atrioneGood point Louis. It would appear that Jack Johnson, Sr. has taken player representation lessons from Carl Lindros.
There was one other component to the JJ for Gleason trade. JR was able to shed the Russian Turnover, Oleg Tverdovsky and his $2.5 million salary in the deal too.