“As a short kid from a small town, I saw my chances of playing in the NHL as very slim,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “But my family – my parents, Ken and Debbie, and my grandparents – believed in me when doubt clouded my mind. Their unwavering faith turned that dream into reality.”
Standing just 5-foot-8 and weighing 191 pounds, Johnson overcame long odds to achieve success at nearly every level of the game. He won the WHL and Memorial Cup championships in 2008 with his hometown Spokane Chiefs, followed by a Calder Cup title in 2012 with the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals.
His NHL debut came in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he became a key part of a dominant core that reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and went on to win back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021. Over the course of 863 combined regular-season and playoff games, Johnson recorded 498 points.
Following his time in Tampa, Johnson played three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and briefly joined the Boston Bruins last year after earning a contract through a training camp tryout.
Injuries had slowed him in recent seasons, and with his 35th birthday approaching on July 29, Johnson said he felt the time was right to move on.
“After a lifetime devoted to hockey, I’m ready for what’s next,” he said. “This moment is bittersweet, but I leave the game with no regrets.”
