Player evaluation: Johnson

A note, before we get to the evaluation. Today, Jack Johnson was named captain of the United States team for the IIHF World Championships, which open Friday in Germany. Kings defenseman Matt Greene is an alternate captain. More information on that can be found here.

JACK JOHNSON
This season: 80 games, 8 goals, 28 assists, 48 penalty minutes, 22:36 average ice time.
The good: Still only 23, Johnson took another step forward in his development this season. He stayed healthy for the entire season, increased his average ice time by more than two minutes per game and finished second among Kings defensemen in scoring. He also showed a tendency to rise to the occasion in big games, as he led the Kings in playoff scoring with seven points (all assists) and was a major contributor on the Kings’ successful playoff power-play unit.
The bad: Johnson has all the physical attributes needed to be a top-level NHL defenseman, but still needs to develop a bit in terms of wise, split-second decisions that separate a second-pair defenseman from a first-pair defenseman. Johnson can dominate games at times but make critical errors at others. While many dismiss plus-minus as an unreliable stat, it’s still worth noting — in a relative sense, at least — that Johnson was minus-15, and Davis Drewiske was the next-worst defenseman at minus-4.
Going forward: Johnson doesn’t have the NHL figured out yet, but very few defensemen do at age 23. He still has time to take that next step. The curious question will be, does Johnson want to take that step with the Kings? Due to be a restricted free agent next summer, and able to sign an extension on July 1, will Johnson seek a long-term deal with the Kings or a short-term deal that might allow him to explore free agency sooner?