Avalanche Cup champion officially joins the Vancouver Canucks following recent retirement announcement

Brennan McClain from Pro Hockey Rumors writes that the Canucks announced Monday they hired Johnson as a professional scout, a quiet but meaningful next step.The move also serves as his official goodbye after 19 NHL seasons.

For Avalanche fans, Johnson will always be the veteran depth defender who stabilized chaotic nights in 2022. He dressed for 13 playoff games on that Cup run, often eating defensive-zone starts.

He entered the league as the No. 3 pick in 2005, drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes and later shipped to Los Angeles. At 38, he finishes with 1,228 games and 342 points, built on stubborn, physical minutes.

If you watched Colorado's penalty kill that spring, you felt his calm when the puck bounced ugly. Vancouver is betting that same composure plays in meeting rooms and scouting rinks.

Johnson's connection to Canucks boss Jim Rutherford is direct, Rutherford signed him in Pittsburgh back in 2018. Those years didn't end smoothly, but they put Johnson around a front office that values experience.

On the ice, he was never about flashy exits, he was about the first safe touch and the second clear. Colorado used him to protect leads, keep cycles outside, and simplify the slot when games got tight.

Now the grind shifts to flights, video, and finding the next depth piece before anyone else does. For a guy who blocked shots for a living, a quieter job still feels like a win.