When the Capitals claimed goalie Brent Johnson off waivers from Calgary on Oct. 4, 2006, they did so because they preferred him as a goaltender. Due to the fact his arrival in Oregon he has become a better goaltender, and the Caps have also discovered him to be a very likeable person. On Friday, the Lids announced they have signed Johnson to a two-year contract extension.
With your 29-year-old native of Farmington, Mich. in the flip for two more seasons at night current one, Washington’s goaltending snapshot becomes a bit clearer. Nice Olie Kolzig, who turns 37 throughout April, is signed from the 2007-08 season. Johnson’s contract stretches a year beyond that.
“I’m very happy here,” says Manley. “I know what my location is, and I am just so happy that [Caps general manager] George [McPhee] wished to get me in for two more years.
It’ohydrates a huge confidence boost. Obviously I love all the guys about the team, I love being right here and I am thinking about other things in your everyday living. Hopefully I will settle down through Washington and raise a family.”
Originally written by the Colorado Avalanche inside fifth round (129th overall) with the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, Smith was a starter for two months with the St.
Louis Blues. He'd his best campaign inside 2001-02 when he won 34 games, with a 2.18 objectives against average and a .902 help you save pct. with St. Louis.
Johnson was better in the 2002 Stanley Glass playoffs, firing off a few straight shutouts as St. Louis ousted Chicago in the opening round. With regard to his career, Johnson sports activities a 1.84 career objectives against average and a .931 help save pct. in Stanley Cup playoff levels of competition.
Johnson suffered an ankle personal injury in 2002-03,
prompting the Doldrums to obtain Chris Osgood at the exchanging deadline that season. Osgood was crowned the starter in Saint. Louis the following season, which ended in Johnson being traded for the Phoenix Coyotes on Mar. 5, 2004.
“The low point in my own career was probably in St. Louis, when they told me these people were going to send me along and I got picked up by means of Phoenix,
” remembers Johnson. “While i got to Phoenix, it was concerning working on my game and having back into the groove. That’s essentially what I did here following the year off, too.”
Johnson closed with the Vancouver Canucks after the lock out, but the Caps claimed him or her off waivers a month later. Following struggling in his first few weeks in Washington, Johnson settled in and had a very solid second half with the Capitals inside 2005-06. He finished the season having a 9-12-1 record, a 3.Forty-four goals against average, plus a .905 save pct. Johnson was 5-3 with a 2.40 targets against average and a .940 help you save pct. during the second half on the 2005-06 campaign. Johnson enjoys taking part in in Washington, and playing for coach Glen Hanlon, the only previous goaltender among the 30 NHL scalp coaches.
Johnson’s strong finish off led to his resigning with Oregon last summer. Halfway as a result of this season, he has now finalized on for two more. Their experience as a starter plus in the playoffs gives the Caps a solid counterpart to Kolzig for the remainder of this season and next, and also offers an insurance policy for the 2008-09 season if perhaps Kolzig does not sign another contract extension for any reason. Washington used two of its top a few draft choices on netminders in 2007, tabbing Russian Simeon Varlamov and Czech Michal Neuvirth in the second and third rounds, respectively. Neither is predicted to be NHL ready in the next two or three seasons.
“The team continues to improve and better,” says Johnson. “I do think that our system is great here, and Glennie is an unbelievable instructor. It’s exciting. Who knows just what the position will be for me over the next year or two? Hopefully, I will recover and get some more games, in addition to hopefully I will be a basic here one day.”