Johnson understands that his role -- much like Marc Staal last season, entails reduced ice time. He's no longer an everyday starter or a 20-plus minute per game player (his career average), Johnson remains a valuable contributor in terms of the intangibles he brings on the ice, the bench and in the locker room.
"I know that my days are over of playing 25, 26 minutes. But I still think I have a lot to contribute whether it's 30 games, 40 games, or whatnot. I will be here to support all the guys -- Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Nick Seeler, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Egor Zamula. Everyone. It's a great group and I am happy to be part of it another season," Johnson said.
Last season, for the first time in his professional career, the Bloomington, Minnesota native moved to the Eastern Conference. He signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres. After dressing in 50 games for the Sabres, he was dealt to the Flyers for a 2024 fourth-round Draft pick (OHL winger Kevin He).
Recently, Johnson signed a new one-year contract to remain with the Flyers in the 2024-25 season. From a personal standpoint, he's a mere 13 games away from earning the coveted Silver Stick milestone (1,000 career regular season games played). From a team standpoint, Johnson relishes being a mentor to younger players on his team.
"I never thought about retiring after last season. Even if I had a thousand games, I'd still have wanted to come back for another year, One thousand games means a lot, but with playoff games, I'm already over 1,000 games. If not for injuries, I'd already be over 1,000 (regular season) games. It means a lot but, more than that, I still love to play the game. I'd love to play as long as I can," Johnson said.
Johnson played 17 games for the Flyers down the stretch drive of the 2023-24 season. Primarily in a fifth-D and penalty-killing role, he averaged 16:26 of ice time per game. Johnson was credited with 50 hits, blocked 29 shots, and chipped in three points (two goals).
Johnson's underlying metrics with the Flyers last season were surprisingly strong despite his traditional minus-nine rating. As with most every Flyers player during the late season eight-game swoon that ultimately cost Philly a playoff spot, Johnson's plus-minus rating took a hit. However, both he and head coach John Tortorella were satisfied with his overall body of work after coming over from Buffalo.
Moving forward, Johnson said he is eager to help the team attain the next steps in the rebuilding process and perhaps even surprise some skeptics along the way.
"I think it's super important for us players to realize that, just because the expectations (from outsiders) aren't high, that doesn't mean we can't do something special," Johnson said.
