Mar 28, 2006; Glendale, AZ, USA; Nashville Predators center (22) Greg Johnson warms up before playing the Phoenix Coyotes at Glendale Arena.
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Sep 1, 2000/vol. 53, issue 41
Johnson pleased to stay with emerging Predators
BY Jett Legwold
Greg Johnson, one of just four players remaining from the Nashville Predators’ 1998 expansion draft, has surveyed the landscape and believes he is standing at the intersection of Right Place and Right Time.
“So much of it is timing”, Johnson said.
Just when the Predators needed a young, versatile player with upper echelon skating skills to help start a roster was about the same time Johnson needed a chance to show he was that kind of player.
It has worked out so well that Johnson signed a new three-year deal this off-season-a deal that will keep the 29-year-old with the Predators through the 2002-2003 season.
I would never be in this position if it weren’t for the Predators, Johnson said. I’ve always had the confidence that I could be a good player, but this organization gave me the opportunity.
He is an important player for us both on and off the ice, said Predators’ GM David Poile. His work ethic and professionalism and coming to play every night.
Johnson finished with 11 goals and 44 points last season when the team needed him to play a more defensive posture. He had 16 goals and 50 points the year before.
His best offensive NHL season before coming to Nashville was 1995-96 when he finished with 18 goals and 40 points for the Dettoit Red Wings.
NOTEBOOK Coach Barry Trotz has toyed with the idea of working several new combinations of forwards in training camp, one of which would feature David Legwand centering wingers Randy Robitaille and Vitali Yachmenev…As part of their impending trip to Japan, the Predators will bring Yujiro Nakajimaya, captain of the Kokudo Bunnies of the Japanese League, to training camp in September. Nakajimaya is a 5-foot-11, 187-pound defenseman. The Predators will open the 2000-01 season with a two-game series against Pittsburgh in Saitama Arena, which is about 45 minutes outside of Tokyo. Nakajimaya is a 10-year veteran of the Japanese Hockey League, and has 19 goals, 96 points and 318 penalty minutes in 313 JHL games.