Denver Post · Feb 28, 2023
Why Avalanche traded younger, cheaper depth defenseman to bring back Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (3) of the Colorado Avalanche sends the puck up ice during the first period of Game 2 in the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Finals as the Colorado Avalanche play against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Ball Arena on Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)Jack Johnson’s suspicions escalated right before the Blackhawks departed on their three-game West Coast road trip in the last week of February. He had surmised seven months ago when he signed a one-year deal that he might not finish the 2022-23 season with Chicago.
It became a lot easier to read the tea leaves after the message he got.
“Before the trip, my agent told me to pack a ‘deadline bag,'” Johnson said Monday.