THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Johnson's Happy start to retirement winds through Showcase

For a little while on Friday afternoon, recently retired NHL and Spokane Chief center Tyler Johnson was Happy.

Not that he was having a bad day or anything on the golf course.

But when a movie about a hockey player turned golfer debuts, sometimes you kind of do what you’re told.

JOHNSON, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning, retired on July 7 after 13 seasons, scoring 193 goals and 240 assists. In 116 career playoff games, Johnson notched 32 goals and 33 assists — all with the Lightning.

“I was just kind of ready,” Johnson said. “I’d thought about it for a long time. I’m really excited for what’s next, and it will always be a part of my life. But I’m ready to see what’s out there.”

Johnson, a graduate of Central Valley High in Spokane Valley, began playing for the Coeur d’Alene Laker Junior Hockey team at KYRO Ice Arena in Coeur d’Alene and was an 11th round pick by the Spokane Chiefs in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft. During the 2007-08 season, Johnson appeared in 69 regular season games, scoring 13 goals with 29 assists as the Chiefs claimed the Western Hockey League title to advance to the Memorial Cup. 

During the 2011-12 season, Johnson moved on to the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, where he helped that franchise win the Calder Cup. Johnson was called up to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he played from 2013 to 2021, winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.

“It would have thought as a kid that it would be … awesome,” Johnson said. “Honestly, retiring doesn’t feel as bad. Everything that I wanted to do, I’ve surpassed that. I’ve got no regrets over anything that happened.”

Tampa Bay’s first Cup title came in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the top 12 teams from each conference played in a modified Stanley Cup Playoffs in either Toronto or Edmonton, with only essential staff present.

“You would have wished it would have been a normal Stanley Cup,” Johnson said. “But looking back, we won that second one, and it was awesome with friends and family there. But the COVID cup, that was probably the hardest one. Being in the bubble and what we went through and endured as a team. You could tell stories for days about the things we had to do in the bubble, and nobody would believe you. In my mind, it might count more than anything else.”

In 2021, the season was shortened to 56 games, but fans were permitted to be in attendance.

“It was a hard time for us and the world,” Johnson said. “We had to be locked up in our rooms and you don’t want to say it’s a prison, but it was pretty close. They were nice rooms, but we couldn’t see our families and some guys had newborns that had grown up quite a bit. But we had a really close team.”

Tampa Bay beat Montreal in five games for the 2021 Stanley Cup.

“It was amazing,” Johnson said. “We won in our home building in front of our fans. Just the electricity in the building gives me chills thinking about it. My parents were there, my wife was there, and we were able to party until 6 in the morning. It’s just an unbelievable feeling to win in front of your family and friends. They’re the ones that got you there and I’m very thankful for that.”

Johnson was traded in 2021 to the Chicago Blackhawks, where he played until 2024, when he moved on to Boston.

As for what’s next, Johnson is still weighing his options.

“I don’t know for sure,” Johnson said. “I want to relax a little bit, have some fun and do whatever I want to do. But I’m also the kind of guy that wants to be doing something all the time. We’re going to figure it out and I’ve got a few charities that I’m going to help out with the NHL alumni and going to have a golf tournament here soon. Right now, I want to focus my effort into giving back until I figure out what to do.”

Jon Cooper, Johnson’s coach at Tampa Bay, praised the Spokane native for his skills on the ice.

“You look at guys like Tyler Johnson and they go undrafted,” Cooper said. “You’re not as tall as other guys in the league or as big as other guys. And you’ve got to have special skills and something has to stick out. And with Tyler, he had a competitiveness. I look at the runs that we had with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015 being our coming out party. We don’t get there without Tyler Johnson. I owe a lot to my career to Tyler Johnson.”

“You’ve got to have a physical attribute, but that kid could skate,” Cooper said. “He could go from 0 to 60 pretty quick. For a smaller player, you’ve got to be able to navigate. He played when it was a big man’s game, and his speed really helped him.”

JOHNSON AND COOPER were just a few of the former athletes on hand for The Showcase on Friday at The Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, a major fundraiser for the Community Cancer Fund.

“The reason you’re looking at Tyler Johnson, Marcus Allen, Larry Fitzgerald and all those guys, is that we are in a beautiful setting, we are,” Cooper said. “Is it awesome to play golf? It is. But we’re really here for the cause. When you’re led by Ryan Gee and Fritz Wolff, you can’t help but want to be here. It’s such a great event. It’s funny because it’s like my coaching career. I keep thinking I’m a rookie, but I’m really a veteran at this event. This is home to me. My kids have grown up here over the summer and we’ll always come back for this. You come to be with good people, and good people are up here.”

The Showcase, in its 11th year, is closed to the public this year.

The event raises money for cancer research, with all monies staying in the area.

“It’s grown in its notoriety, which stems from the substantial giving by our donors,” Community Cancer Fund executive director Jon Neill said. “Through that, we’ve been able to attract more celebrities and more sponsors and donors. And that’s resulted in being able to put that much more back into the community.”

Each year, the list continues to grow with former NFL, NBA, MLB stars, along with entertainers.

“I think with attracting the people we have, which includes Super Bowl champions, World Series champions, Stanley Cup champions, I’d call it the Marcus Allen effect,” Neill said. “You bring in a quality individual that understands what we’re trying to do. And he explains it and advocates it to his friends and teammates, and it grows from within. They understand what we’re doing and they love coming to Coeur d’Alene. For some, it’s an undiscovered town. But others it’s a cherished weekend. The hospitality they get, not just from the Community Cancer Fund, but The Coeur d’Alene Resort Hotel, the golf course, it really helps bring the ultimate experience that’s so very welcoming.”

The Cancer Fund also holds the Boulevard Race in September in Spokane.

“We want to create an event that’s great economically for raising dollars and generating dollars for the cities,” Neill said. “In coming together with the Boulevard and Gonzaga basketball games, and the Showcase, it’s always remained the goal to continue to build.”

In addition to having fun, like was had as Johnson, Allen, Larry Fitzgerald and former Shadle Park and Washington State star quarterback Mark Rypien did during a Celebrity Hole-in-One Challenge on the Floating Green.

Johnson’s wife, Megan, purchased Tyler a Happy Gilmore jersey to wear during the competition, won by Allen on Friday. Happy Gilmore 2 debuted on Friday on Netflix.

A good sport, Johnson took his first swing like that of Gilmore.

Unlike the movie, his ball wound up in Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1206 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on 'X,' formerly Twitter @JECdAPress. 

    CHRIS O'MEARA/Associated Press Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper talks to players, from left, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, and Ryan Callahan during the first period of a Nov. 16, 2017, game against the Dallas Stars in Tampa, Fla.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Former Spokane Chief and NHL star Tyler Johnson tees off during The Showcase's celebrity Hole-in-One Challenge on Friday at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course.