Tyler Johnson wants head to a contender and skate in the playoffs, indicating he won't be back with the Blackhawks next season..

Tyler Johnson will not be returning to the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2024-25 season. The pending UFA is set to hit free agency and is looking to join a contender for a chance to get back to the playoffs.

Johnson, 33, skated in the playoffs in seven of nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Johnson led the Lightning with 10 goals and 23 points in the 2015 postseason when they fell to the Blackhawks in the finals. He won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2019-20 and 2020-21. 

Johnson was a salary cap casualty after the Lightning won their second Cup. The Lightning sent the the 5-foot-8 forward (and a 2023 second-round draft pick) to Chicago for the final three years of his seven-year, $35 million contact.

Johnson was direct in speaking to reporters about his time with the Blackhawks.

"I'm obviously thankful for being here (Chicago)," he said. "I've met a lot of good people, but it wasn't exactly what I envisioned or wanted." 

Johnson was dealt from the Lightning, who've been in the playoffs in 10 of 11 seasons, to a Blackhawks team that struggled, finishing 27th, 30th, and 31st in the NHL in his three years in Chicago.

"I'd like to play some meaningful hockey and get back in the playoffs...That's where it's (playoffs) all at," Johnson added. "That's where I've always loved. I've always just wanted to be a part of that, and when you're not, especially the last few years here doing what we're doing, it's been pretty tough."

Johnson said he prides himself on being a team-first type of player, doing whatever the team needs him to do to get the job done and win. That's the type of role he's willing to play on a playoff contender.

His career has run 11 seasons split between the Lightning and the Blackhawks. In addition to reaching the the Stanley Cup Final three times, he's gone to the Eastern Conference Final twice, and skated in a total of 116 playoff games.

His numbers in the playoffs across years indicate that Johnson indeed does what the team needs of him, regardless of the role. 

In the 2015 and 2016 playoffs, Johnson scored 20 goals and 40 points in 43 games while averaging 18:13 of ice time per game as a top-six forward. But during the Lightning's back-to-back Stanley Cup championship runs, Johnson was a middle to bottom-six player who averaged 13:02 per game and scored eight goals and 14 points in 48 games.

It was tough to move Johnson considering he had a cap hit of $5 million AAV, but he's made his money (over $40 million career earnings) and appears to be locked in and fired up about the chance to experience playoff hockey again.

At 33, Johnson shouldn't be washed up. Even on the Blackhawks this season, he contributed 17 goals and 31 points in 67 games. 

At a lower AAV and with better/more experienced linemates, he can still be a 20-goal scorer who hits 40 points in a season from the third line. Mix in the two-way play that earned him Selke Trophy votes early in his career and the kind of team player he is. Several teams may want to sign him at the right price and terms.

With Johnson and his $5 million cap hit moving on, this opens up a spot for a younger player and/or even a potential free agent/trade additions on the Blackhawks.

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