Ross Johnston

[UMR-alum-05]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

[Pierre McGuire]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Blows my mind how many people think it’s not important to have that guy on the ice and more importantly in the locker room.

[a smell of green grass]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Blows my mind how many people think it’s not important to have that guy on the ice and more importantly in the locker room.

I'm not surprised. Most BluesTalkers 1000% trust Army and the Blues Journalists, and they never tell the full truth. When was the last time you saw a news story about what went wrong with the Blues, or what the Blues are missing? It never happens. The negative commentary is constrained to 1 SCAPEGOAT (eg. Kryrou), and that is it.

[UMR-alum-05]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Blows my mind how many people think it’s not important to have that guy on the ice and more importantly in the locker room.

I'm aligned with you here for sure.

[TruBlueFan_1970]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Blows my mind how many people think it’s not important to have that guy on the ice and more importantly in the locker room.

Agree 100% Pierre. And it helps if they can skate well enough to be an effective 4th liner. Johnston is not Tony Twist. Yes, he has putrid numbers, but he did have 3 goals and 11 assists last season, so he's not 100% useless around the net. For reference, Toropchenko had 11 points last season and is a kitty cat out there. Walker had 11 points and is wasting a spot. Finley, while a center, good on the dot and an effective member of the PK, had 5 points last season, but doesn't play that physical style nor is hard to play against. Johnston brings that Reaves/Maroon type leadership to the team.

And quite a few teams carry players like this to keep the other team's dmen looking over their shoulder and hopefully making bad/quick decisions that lead to turnovers. I'm not going to search the league, but guys like Deslauriers, Matt Martin, Adam Klepka, Kastelic, Rempe, Macewen, etc... come to mind. Heck, I didn't look but Reaves at age 104 might still be on a team this season. It's less than it used to be in the league for sure, but there are still quite a few teams that like to have this type of role player on their roster.

[UMR-alum-05]

Johnston can skate. He's far from useless out there.

[Bacchk29]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Not in 2026 you don’t. You need guys that can play the game. See Ryan Reaves.

[UMR-alum-05]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Not in 2026 you don’t. You need guys that can play the game. See Ryan Reaves.

Carolina, who just won the cup, traded for an enforcer and signed him to an extension.

I have no idea what people who have your views are actually watching.

Also you didn't address the clear example I gave about Thomas getting mugged.

[HighStick]

Teams are going to need 3 Johnston's just to deal with Florida.

[netboy65]

Expect? Frequent trips to the penalty box. 60 games? Seems high.

So...he's a goon?

How many games you see from Monty?

I'm being sincere here. The board lit up when we landed him then no one pencils him in. Is he 30 games? 40?

He blocks a roster spot for a prospect in our system. Nothing more.

They signed him to a 3 year deal…that’s how badly Steen thought his presence was needed. His role blocks nobody of importance in the organization for a 4th line role

Soooo….none of your high draft picks acquired or drafted are better than this guy whose role is being phased out in the NHL. Speaks volumes about the scouting and analysis in the organization

Which high draft picks do you think are are going to be competing for a 4th line role with Ross Johnston?

I’d rather see a guy like Kasamaki get a shot than some goon like Johnston. Goons are dinosaurs in this league now.

Yet the team that just won the Stanley Cup felt the need to trade for and then resign Nick Deslauriers. Maybe leave some things to the experts…

Because they can afford to, like you said, they just won the Cup. We need all the talent we can get, not some one dimensional oaf.

So now you are just going to move the goalposts…ok. You sound like a perpetual complainer. Time to disengage.

Which goalpost did I move? I was simply responding to you saying “oh but see? Carolina signed that type of guy” and gave my opinion as to why they did.

[Pierre McGuire]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Blows my mind how many people think it’s not important to have that guy on the ice and more importantly in the locker room.

Agree 100% Pierre. And it helps if they can skate well enough to be an effective 4th liner. Johnston is not Tony Twist. Yes, he has putrid numbers, but he did have 3 goals and 11 assists last season, so he's not 100% useless around the net. For reference, Toropchenko had 11 points last season and is a kitty cat out there. Walker had 11 points and is wasting a spot. Finley, while a center, good on the dot and an effective member of the PK, had 5 points last season, but doesn't play that physical style nor is hard to play against. Johnston brings that Reaves/Maroon type leadership to the team.

And quite a few teams carry players like this to keep the other team's dmen looking over their shoulder and hopefully making bad/quick decisions that lead to turnovers. I'm not going to search the league, but guys like Deslauriers, Matt Martin, Adam Klepka, Kastelic, Rempe, Macewen, etc... come to mind. Heck, I didn't look but Reaves at age 104 might still be on a team this season. It's less than it used to be in the league for sure, but there are still quite a few teams that like to have this type of role player on their roster.

Spot on

[Bacchk29]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Not in 2026 you don’t. You need guys that can play the game. See Ryan Reaves.

Carolina, who just won the cup, traded for an enforcer and signed him to an extension.

I have no idea what people who have your views are actually watching.

Also you didn't address the clear example I gave about Thomas getting mugged.

Thomas needs to be stronger on his skates and push back. PLD is not a tough guy.

Carolina brought in a luxury because they’re a defending champ and their lineup is set. He’ll play maybe 30 games and be in the press box unless there’s injury. Here you’re asking Johnston to dress regularly and play a key role here. We’re not a playoff team and lack talent to compete. It’s not an upgrade.

[TBone]

Here's really why.
One. Steen is a [kittycat].

The Blues have been a team of [kittycats] since Maroon left.

Steen's determined to change it even if it starts with overkill. And Johnston's contract is small potatoes.

Look how often Ryan Reeves has been moved. They can trade him whenever they feel they no longer need him.

[UMR-alum-05]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Not in 2026 you don’t. You need guys that can play the game. See Ryan Reaves.

Carolina, who just won the cup, traded for an enforcer and signed him to an extension.

I have no idea what people who have your views are actually watching.

Also you didn't address the clear example I gave about Thomas getting mugged.

Thomas needs to be stronger on his skates and push back. PLD is not a tough guy.

Carolina brought in a luxury because they’re a defending champ and their lineup is set. He’ll play maybe 30 games and be in the press box unless there’s injury. Here you’re asking Johnston to dress regularly and play a key role here. We’re not a playoff team and lack talent to compete. It’s not an upgrade.

So you expect the Blues best and most important player to fight his own battles against the goons of the league? Mmmkay...

[Younghopp1991]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Not in 2026 you don’t. You need guys that can play the game. See Ryan Reaves.

Carolina, who just won the cup, traded for an enforcer and signed him to an extension.

I have no idea what people who have your views are actually watching.

Also you didn't address the clear example I gave about Thomas getting mugged.

Thomas needs to be stronger on his skates and push back. PLD is not a tough guy.

Carolina brought in a luxury because they’re a defending champ and their lineup is set. He’ll play maybe 30 games and be in the press box unless there’s injury. Here you’re asking Johnston to dress regularly and play a key role here. We’re not a playoff team and lack talent to compete. It’s not an upgrade.

The “stronger on his skates” comment is a little weird based off of the actual play being discussed.

[netboy65]

People whining about the Johnston signing obviously didn't watch PLD body slam Robert Thomas onto the ice last year when the Capitals were in town.

Also the Blues haven't been past the second round since we had Pat Maroon on the roster.

You gotta have a tough guy. It's a must.

Not in 2026 you don’t. You need guys that can play the game. See Ryan Reaves.

Carolina, who just won the cup, traded for an enforcer and signed him to an extension.

I have no idea what people who have your views are actually watching.

Also you didn't address the clear example I gave about Thomas getting mugged.

Thomas needs to be stronger on his skates and push back. PLD is not a tough guy.

Carolina brought in a luxury because they’re a defending champ and their lineup is set. He’ll play maybe 30 games and be in the press box unless there’s injury. Here you’re asking Johnston to dress regularly and play a key role here. We’re not a playoff team and lack talent to compete. It’s not an upgrade.

So you expect the Blues best and most important player to fight his own battles against the goons of the league? Mmmkay...

PLD is a goon now?? Mmmkay….