PITTSBURGH — Collectively shaken by the death of a former teammate, many Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday shared memories of Adam Johnson, who died after a “freak accident” during a game in Britain’s top hockey league on Saturday.
“It’s really sad,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “He was a really nice guy who worked hard and had a great attitude. He was doing what he loved playing hockey. I am glad we got to share time with him as he lived his dream playing in the NHL and see him score his first goal in his home state.”
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Players and coaches were aware Johnson had been injured before they faced the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena. After the game, word began to spread about Johnson’s fate. Before leaving the arena late Saturday night, members of the Penguins’ communications department were already at work on a statement that would be released Sunday morning.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 29, 2023
Saying he would “always be part of the Penguins family,” the Penguins ended their statement as follows: “It was our honor to watch him fulfill his dream of playing in the National Hockey League.”
After sharing the statement, the Penguins did not post anything else on their various social media platforms on Sunday.
Johnson, who was 29, appeared in 13 regular-season games over two seasons with the Penguins at the end of last decade. Only seven of the current players remain with the Penguins from the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
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One, a fellow Minnesotan, is Jake Guentzel, who said on Sunday, “Honestly, I’m at a loss for words.”
Guentzel, who offered his “sincerest condolences to Adam’s family, loved and every person that he touched in the hockey community,” tried to soothe his pain with a happier thought.
“All I do know,” Guentzel said, “is I’m happy I will always be able to call Adam a teammate.”
The Penguins did not practice on Sunday. The weather around Pittsburgh on a scheduled off day reflected their mood: a gray sky, rain and cool temperatures — one of those typically “sad days,” as Autumn afternoons are commonly called by natives.
Signed into the organization by former assistant general manager Bill Guerin, Johnson spent three seasons with the Penguins. He spent most of that time playing regularly for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the longtime AHL affiliate in Pittsburgh. Players in the minors who receive the call-up to Pittsburgh often have made jokes about feeling excited while taking “that boring drive from Wilkes” — 260-some miles in about four hours.
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Always worth it, though.
It was for Johnson, said his close friend Sam Lafferty.
Their paths crossed in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With nearly a full AHL season under his belt, Johnson quickly formed camaraderie when Lafferty arrived at the end of 2017-18. Johnson, from a hockey hotbed (Hibbing, Minn.), and Lafferty, from a hockey outpost (Hollidaysburg, Pa.), did not have much in common. Each was a 6-foot forward with starry-eyed dreams of taking the ice together in the NHL.
“In the American League, guys are younger and you spend more time together,” Lafferty said on Sunday from Vancouver, where the Canucks have become his fourth NHL team.
“We had a close team, and every day was fun. ‘Johnny’ was right in the mix every day — always keeping things light, seeing the humor in things, getting chirped and chirping right back.”
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was in Hershey, Pa., on Sunday to play their rival, the Bears. Prior to the game, a moment of silence was held to honor Johnson as players from each club formed a circle at center ice.
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) October 29, 2023
A fast skater, Johnson often used his speed to get a step on defense for an easy scoring chance in the AHL, where he scored 50 goals in parts of five seasons.
“Throw it across the ice to Johnny flying down the wing,” Lafferty said, recalling a go-to sequence when they played together in the AHL.
Lafferty described playing on a line with Johnson in the AHL as “a privilege,” one that extended to a definitive moment in each of their lives.
On a cold October night in Saint Paul, Minn., as linemates with the Penguins, Johnson and Lafferty scored their first NHL goals. Guerin, by then GM of the Minnesota Wild, could not help but smile that evening, even though his former club got one up on him when the Penguins won.
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“Felt like his whole town was there,” Lafferty said of Johnson, who had extensive family and friends at the game.
“Myself and Zach Aston-Reese connected with him on the goal. Just pure elation all around. All of us coming up through Wilkes-Barre is what made it so special.”
Johnson would last only 10 more days in the NHL. In all, he scored that one goal to go with three assists for the Penguins.
As Lafferty continued to establish himself as a bottom-six forward and strong penalty killer in the NHL, Johnson’s professional hockey journey took him to Sweden, Canada, Germany, back through Pennsylvania, and eventually to England, where he signed to play this season with the Nottingham Panthers. No longer playing together, Johnson and Lafferty stayed in touch despite being separated by borders, time zones and even the Atlantic Ocean. There was always that hope — unlikely as it might have been — that their hockey paths would again one day cross.
“Johnny was truly one of the kindest people I’ve ever met,” Lafferty said, repeating a sentiment echoed by Crosby, Guentzel, and others who met Johnson during his Penguins days.
“A great young man,” said Mark Recchi, who knew Johnson from his time in development and later as an assistant coach with the Penguins. “I still can’t believe it.”
The same can probably be said of everybody in the hockey world. For them, Lafferty made a request: Remember Johnson as he was after scoring his lone NHL goal in front of an adoring audience.
“The look of elation on his face,” Lafferty said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
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(Photo: Jeanine Leech / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
