Matt Johnson (ice hockey)

Matthew Johnson
Born	November 23, 1975 Welland, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight	230 lb (100 kg; 16 st 6 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Los Angeles Kings Atlanta Thrashers Minnesota Wild
NHL Draft	33rd overall, 1994 Los Angeles Kings
Playing career	1994–2004

Matt Johnson (born November 23, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played parts of 10 seasons as an enforcer in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers and the Minnesota Wild. Johnson was born in Welland, Ontario, and raised in nearby Fenwick. He was known by Wild fans as Moose.

Playing career

Due to his great size and power forward abilities, many NHL scouts took great interest in Johnson. He was drafted in the second round, 33rd overall, by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.

After two-plus seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Peterborough Petes, Johnson joined the Kings during the 1994–95 season. During the 1998–99 season, Johnson was suspended for twelve games for sucker-punching Jeff Beukeboom in the back of the head.^[1] He would remain a member of the Kings until he was chosen by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 1999 NHL Expansion Draft. On November 17, 1999, Johnson scored 10 seconds after teammate Andrew Brunette in a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning to mark the then two quickest goals in Franchise history.^[2] After just one season with the Thrashers, he would join another expansion team, the Minnesota Wild, for the 2000–01 season. He was named team captain of the Wild in December 2002. Johnson played four seasons with the Wild and, to date, has had no NHL experience since the end of the 2003–04 season.

During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Johnson decided that he did not want to play hockey anymore. In an interview with Doug Risebrough of a Minnesota newspaper, he explained that his shoulder (which was reconstructed during that off-season) had been feeling great and after a few months of no hockey, he would wake up in the morning with no pain or constant aches like he had when he played. He decided that he did not want to go back to being an enforcer, and a few days later, the Wild organization bought out his contract and today he remains unofficially retired. He currently makes his home in Los Angeles.^[3]

In his NHL career, Johnson appeared in 473 games, tallying 23 goals and adding 20 assists. In addition, he recorded 1,523 penalty minutes. He also appeared in 16 Stanley Cup playoff games, going scoreless with 31 penalty minutes.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992–93	Peterborough Petes	OHL		66	8	17	25	211		16	1	1	2	54
1993–94	Peterborough Petes	OHL		50	13	24	37	233		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Peterborough Petes	OHL		14	1	2	3	43		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		14	1	0	1	102		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		1	0	0	0	5		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Phoenix Roadrunners	IHL		29	4	4	8	87		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		52	1	3	4	194		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		66	2	4	6	249		4	0	0	0	6
1998–99	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		49	2	1	3	131		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		64	2	5	7	144		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Minnesota Wild	NHL		50	1	1	2	137		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Minnesota Wild	NHL		60	4	0	4	183		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Minnesota Wild	NHL		60	3	5	8	201		12	0	0	0	25
2003–04	Minnesota Wild	NHL		57	7	1	8	177		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				473	23	20	43	1523		16	0	0	0	31

References

1. "Hockey: Johnson suspended 12 games". New York Times. 1998-11-24. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
2. "Quiz: Novembers to remember". Atlanta Thrashers. 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
3. "Where are they now?". Minnesota Wild. 2010-10-19. Retrieved 2010-10-19.

External links

• Matt Johnson's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database