Edmonton Oilers’ Aaron Johnson, left, congratulates teammate Jeff Deslauriers on his shutout win over the New Jersey Devils of an NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oliers in Edmonton on Sunday, March 7, 2010. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)
Johnson, 27 (4/30/83), split the 2009-10 season between Calgary (22 games) and Edmonton (19 games), posting a career high in goals (4) while tying a personal best in points (10). The 6-1, 208-pounder also a averaged career high 15:39 of ice time a season ago. In an NHL career that started in 2003-04 the Port Hawkesbury, N.S., native has racked up 46 points (14g-32a) and 191 penalty minutes in 225 games with the Flames, Oilers, Chicago, N.Y. Islanders and Columbus.
According to the scouting reports by The Hockey News, Johnson is noted for being better in the offensive end than his own zone. He’s a fairly large player (listed at 6'1", 211 lbs.) and saw a big jump in minutes when he switched from the Flames (about 12 minutes per game) to the Oilers (a little bit more than 19 minutes per game).
From the looks of things, Johnson might have a chance to be a seventh defenseman (or useful minor leaguer) for the Predators. The team might not hit high marks for flashy play, but they gave the Chicago Blackhawks genuine headaches in the first round of the playoffs and always seem to scrap their way to relevance.
