2007-08 Rink Wrap: Brent Johnson

by J.P. on May 12, 2008 6:38 AM EDT in Rink Wraps Comment 0 comments

From Backstrom to Steckel, we're taking a quick look at and grading the 2007-08 season for every player* who laced 'em up for the Caps during the campaign (and is still with the team) with an eye towards 2008-09. Next up, Brent Johnson.

Contract Status: 2008-09 salary of $825,000 ($812,500 cap hit); UFA following 2008-09 season
Age (as of October 1, 2008): 31
NHL Seasons (including 2007-08): 7
2007-08 Regular Season Stats: 19 games played, 7-8-2 record, 0 shutouts, 2.68 GAA, .908 SV%
Key Stat: Take away his second start of the season and Johnson had a 2.41 GAA and .913 SV%.
Ironic Foreshadowing Stat: Johnson became the first goalie other than Olie Kolzig to start a season opener for the Caps since Craig Billington in 2000.

The Good: Johnson recovered from a rough start to the season to end the year giving up more than three goals in just one of his final dozen appearances, a span that included a three-game winning streak (and a tough loss to the Flyers) in January and a couple of bad beats (by Carolina and Jersey) in February. He was 6-4-1 with a 2.38 GAA and .917 SV% under Bruce Boudreau and had a 4-3-1 overall record with a 2.18 GAA and .919 SV% against Southeast Division opponents. His .908 save percentage was the second best of his career, and he posted a 1.97 GAA and a .927 SV% at the Verizon Center.

The Bad: Johnson had a six-game winless streak (pre-Boudreau) during which he had a 3.61 GAA and a .878 SV%, and in five of his 17 appearances he had a GAA of 4.00 or higher (which is something to keep in mind if he ends up as the number two goaltender behind a guy who has never played more than 52 games in a season). Johnson had a 4-5-1 record with a 3.11 GAA and .897 SV% on the road and ended the season (early, of course) on an overall 1-3-1 slide.

The Vote: Rate Johnson on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Questions: What's the maximum number of games you'd be comfortable seeing Johnson start for the 2008-09 Caps? What will it take for him to earn a 10 rating next year?

If you've missed any of the previous 2007-08 Rink Wraps, click here, get caught up, and vote - polls will stay open for a while.

* And by "every," we mean every one who played more than just a handful of games.

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Southeast Standings

	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
Washington Japers' Rink	72	48	14	10	106
Atlanta Bird Watchers Anonymous	71	31	29	11	73
Tampa Bay Raw Charge	71	28	31	12	68
Carolina Canes Country	71	30	33	8	68
Florida Litter Box Cats	70	28	31	11	67