Seventeen years after stepping foot on the campus of the University of Michigan as a freshman, the Colorado Avalanche defenseman graduated this spring with a degree in general studies.
"It was a big thing for myself, I wanted to do it," said Johnson, 35, who is in his 16th NHL season. "As a kid I grew up dreaming of playing college hockey at Michigan. I wanted to graduate from there, the No. 1-ranked public school in the country. So, it meant a lot to me. I made a promise to Red Berenson when I left that I was going to finish. I called him as soon as I did."
Berenson, the 82-year-old former Michigan coach, said he got the call from Johnson a few weeks ago.
"He knew how proud I was of him as a player, and for him to finish up this promise after all these years is a great testament to the kid, obviously his integrity and his purpose," Berenson said in a phone interview with NHL.com on Saturday. "He said it gave him more satisfaction to graduate than all the things he has done on the ice as a player. So, good for him. I'm really proud of him and I think that will set a good example for a lot of other guys that didn't quite finish up in school, said they would or they might, but they let it slide. Jack didn't let it slide."
Johnson is also two wins away from realizing another dream: winning the Stanley Cup. He was plus-2 for the Avalanche in their 7-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 at Ball Arena on Saturday to extend their lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
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After leaving school early, Johnson reached the NHL late in the 2006-07 season with the Los Angeles Kings. He has played 1,024 regular season games, and Game 2 was his 39th in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is his first time in the Cup Final.
"It's incredibly special," Johnson said. "You never know if you're going to get an opportunity to play for it. We've worked so hard this year to get to this point where we now have an opportunity. You never know if you're going to get back here. It took me this long to get a chance here."
It took him longer to get his degree, but Johnson said he stayed diligent in completing his courses.
"Some of the seasons where I wasn't fortunate enough to make the playoffs I'd go back for spring terms," Johnson said. "Online courses. I took advantage of some of the time during the pandemic where they offered some online courses that I normally would have to be on campus for. Then just graduated this spring."
His hardest course?
"Statistics," Johnson said. "Hands down."
Speaking of that, the rugged defenseman has no points in eight games in these playoffs after he had nine nine (one goal, eight assists) in 74 regular-season games.
Johnson was a regular in the Avalanche lineup this season but was pushed down the depth chart to become the seventh defenseman at the start of the playoffs.
He went back to being a regular when Samuel Girard sustained a season-ending injury (broken sternum) in Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round against the St. Louis Blues.
"I look back to a couple years ago, we've had really good teams and when we get to the playoffs and had an injury or two we were calling up guys from the American [Hockey] League to play for us," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "They filled in admirably for us but it's not the same as putting a guy in who has played 1,100 games, a veteran guy that has been around for a long time."
Johnson joked that it took him so long to get his degree that by now people he started with at Michigan are doctors. But he has an obvious excuse for why it took him this long.
He was busy establishing himself in the NHL, becoming a regular with the Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins before a brief stint with the New York Rangers last season and now this season with the Avalanche.
"He's a good veteran," said his defense partner, Josh Manson. "He's been doing this for a long time so he knows how to have success."
On the ice and in school.
"If it happens it's a bonus," Berenson said of Johnson winning the Stanley Cup. "If it doesn't happen, I think we're all proud of Jack for his career and particularly for finishing up in school. Not many guys in the Stanley Cup Final are thinking about school."
