Johnson, 35, will become the 363rd player in NHL history to reach that milestone. He's the 360th skater and 119th defenseman to do so. The Indianapolis, Indiana native will be just the 21st United States-born defenseman to reach the milestone.
Johnson will join Adam Foote, Todd Gill, Milan Hejduk, Ian Laperriere, Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, Brad Stuart and Alex Tanguay as the only players to appear in their 1,000th NHL contest as a member of the Avalanche.
"[It's] surreal. I'm very proud of it and it's a special thing," Johnson said. "I've been fortunate enough to see a few guys reach that milestone and it's kind of hard to believe I'm at that point... I'm extremely appreciative for the opportunity and the chance to be here, to be here with this group of guys. I got to talk to the guys this morning, and special occasions are made that much better when you have special people to share them with. I couldn't ask for a better group of teammates, coaching staff, management and everything. It makes it everything you dream of and more."
Selected by Carolina in the first round (third overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Johnson's career has included stops with Los Angeles (343 games), Columbus (445), Pittsburgh (149), the New York Rangers (13) and now Avalanche (tonight will be 50). He will become just the seventh player from the 2005 draft class to hit the 1,000-games milestone, joining Anze Kopitar (1182), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (1132), Andrew Cogliano (1113), Keith Yandle (1084), Sidney Crosby (1082) and Paul Stastny (1043).
In 999 games, Johnson has recorded 311 points (72g/239a). He has also skated in 30 career playoff games, notching 21 points (5g/16a).
JACK JOHNSON'S LANDMARK GAMES
Game #1 March 29, 2007 vs. Vancouver
Game #100 March 1, 2009 at Chicago
Game #200 April 11, 2010 at Colorado
Game #300 Nov. 16, 2011 vs. Anaheim
Game #400 April 9, 2013 vs. San Jose
Game #500 Oct. 31, 2014 vs. Toronto
Game #600 Dec. 12, 2015 vs. NY Islanders
Game #700 March 19, 2017 at New Jersey
Game #800 Nov. 3, 2018 vs. Toronto
Game #900 Dec. 12, 2019 vs. Columbus
Game #1,000 March 1, 2022 vs. NY Islanders
PLAYERS TO APPEAR IN 1,000TH
GAME IN AN AVALANCHE SWEATER
Todd Gill - Jan. 21, 2002 vs. Buffalo
Joe Sakic - March 9, 2002 vs. Florida
Patrick Roy - Jan. 20, 2003 vs. Dallas
Adam Foote - Oct. 12, 2008 at Edmonton
Ian Laperriere - April 11, 2009 vs. Vancouver
Milan Hejduk - Feb. 4, 2013 vs. Dallas
Brad Stuart - Dec. 18, 2014 at Pittsburgh
Alex Tanguay - March 4, 2015 vs. Pittsburgh
Jack Johnson - March 1, 2022 vs. NY Islanders
