I'll admit, much like many Columbus Blue Jackets fans, I was crushed when, after a quick start; Kent Johnson was sidelined early this year in what looked to be a long term injury initially. He started off the year with 5 points in 5 games and looked to be on his way to cementing himself as an NHL star on a still-young Union Blue roster.
Then came the activation off of IR just over a month later, and he kept up the pace he had started October with. While he had some scoring lulls for short portions of the 2024-2025 campaign, KJ still finished the year slashing 24-33-57 in 68 games, posting a +2 rating and only taking 16 penalty minutes during the entire season.
Kent mostly featured on the first and second lines this season, and was most often paired with Adam Fantilli, who he established very decent chemistry with by the end of the campaign. Their line with Boone Jenner on the other wing was one of the better units by the end of the season.
They put up a 61.5% expected Goals % (4.01 xGF vs 2.51 xGA) in their short 71 minutes together, good for the 39th best forward line combination in the NHL in that statistic (minimum of 70 minutes TOI). Insanely, this put their combination as the 2nd best in the NHL in expected goals for per 60 minutes (minimum 70 minutes TOI) at 6.68 xGF per 60 (all stats per Moneypuck.com).
Even KJ's individual advanced stats look more-than-solid: he finished in the top 75 of NHL skaters (minimum 1000 minutes TOI) in both Corsi and Fenwick % with a 57% and 56%, respectively. These two stats measure the percentage of all shots attempts & all unblocked shot attempts respectively while the player is on the ice.
In other words, Columbus ended up taking more shots than their opponents while Kent Johnson was on the ice this season. He actually led all CBJ forwards in Shot Attempts against per 60 with just 50.82, good for 52nd place in the NHL among forwards. He also set a franchise record with a 19.5% shooting percentage this season.
All of these stats speak to the top skill in Kent Johnson's repertoire: his ability to possess and be creative with the puck on and off of his stick. Union Blue fans knew when KJ was drafted in 2021 that he was a human highlight reel when on the ice, and that his creativeness was his best skill coming into the National Hockey League. I think he's shown that to still be true even at hockey's highest level.
Maybe he's been taking lessons from his buddies Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini during the offseason?
Another Kent Johnson nugget -- the group he's been training with this summer includes the last two No. 1 overall picks in Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, both fellow Vancouver natives.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) July 31, 2024
Have to imagine those sessions are fun to watch. #CBJ
If he can stay healthy this season, I'd pick the over on whatever his season points total O/U is set at. I wouldn't be shocked in the slightest if he makes it to the 70 points plateau this coming season. Book it!