CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Jack Johnson's an all-in kind of guy. Always has been.
Want to hear a wonderful example?
In 2010, when the Olympics were held in Vancouver, the NHL season was still going on during the Opening Ceremonies. He was about to represent the United States on the grandest stage in sports and, proud as he was to play for the Kings at the time, this was something on another level for him. And that being the first year the league allowed players, if they chose, to leave their teams to attend the ceremony, he was the only one who so chose.
His L.A. team happened to be playing in Edmonton the night before the ceremony. He sought and received permission from Terry Murray, his coach at the time, if he could take that day to get to Vancouver in the neighboring province but not-at-all close in reality. He then reached out to USA Hockey officials, who arranged the following itinerary:
• He chartered a personal two-hour flight to Bellingham, Wash.
• A chauffeur met him there to drive him back across the U.S.-Canada border
• He met USA Hockey personnel in the Olympic Village, who had all his gear ready, by 3 p.m., in ample time to march that night at 9.
• As soon as it was done, he was driven back to Bellingham, then flown down to L.A. for the Kings' game the next night against the Avalanche, their last before the Olympics.
• The next day, he flew right back up to Vancouver for the Olympics.
All that to walk around with his fellow American athletes.
I covered those Games, and I can attest that Johnson was by far the biggest media attraction upon his showing up the second time -- he didn't have time for media on the first occasion, obviously -- just as I can attest that I'd never seen a professional athlete look more proud to be participating.
Naturally, this came up in our conversation Wednesday, when Johnson informally skated with two new fellow Penguins, Jake Guentzel and Chad Ruhwedel, at the Lemieux Sports Complex.
"One of the great experiences of my life. I'll never forget it," Johnson told me, recalling that Olympic adventure. "Any chance you have to represent your country, you want to make the most of it."
So here he is now. He's 31 and "a little older, but not too old, I think," and he's essentially signed up for a new adventure, by accepting the Penguins' five-year $16.25 million contract from what he called "a pretty good group of teams" out of free agency and, maybe above all, by accepting the challenge that comes with playing for a perennial Stanley Cup contender:
Yeah, excited. Visibly anxious, too.
Johnson and his wife, Kelly Quinn, the sister of former NFL quarterback Brady Quinn, left her native Ohio two weeks ago upon buying a home near the Penguins' practice complex, ready to embrace Pittsburgh fully.
"We're making a home here," Johnson said. "We haven't been able to get around too much yet outside Cranberry, but we love what we've seen."
He's doing that with teammates, too. Guentzel told me he and Johnson already have become texting/golfing buddies in the area, and that they basically arranged on their own this session with Ruhwedel, session instructor Jay Caufield and a couple of minor-league goaltenders.
It's a start.
"I'm surrounded by a lot of great players," Johnson said. "I just think, on an everyday basis, in practices and games, being around great players helps elevate your own game individually. I don't think of myself as an old guy yet. I think I've still got a lot of room to grow, a lot to improve on ... I actually feel like I'm just getting started. Yeah, I'm really excited."
Beyond that, he apparently hasn't delved too deeply into any planning for the 2018-19 season. He hasn't been told which side he'll play on defense, nor which partner he might have, nor really much of anything from the coaching staff save for ensuring he's arriving with the proper conditioning. To that end, he's been working for about a week with the strength coaches.
Otherwise ...
Any response to John Tortorella's bizarre blistering of his innocuous comments upon signing with the Penguins?
"Yeah, I was very surprised by it," he replied. "But yeah, I haven't thought about it since."
Any thoughts on coming to a team with best bud Sidney Crosby, a friend since their prep school days in Minnesota?
"I've played against him in the NHL, the Olympics, the World Cup ... it'll be a lot nicer playing with him than against him."
How about with Phil Kessel, another longtime acquaintance?
“I’ve got a lot of good Phil stories."
Any he'd care to share?
“No,” and that came with a laugh.
Is he worried if, as a left shot, he might have to switch to the right side given the Penguins' imbalance on defense?
"Not a big deal. I've played left-right my whole career, going all the way back to high school. No preference."
Any thoughts on how he might be used, or how he'd like to be used?
"Just coming in open-minded to everything. We'll see where everything goes."
I wrote a couple weeks ago that Mike Sullivan and Jacques Martin would do well to pursue a pairing of Johnson with Jamie Oleksiak. The argument was built partly on keeping the top two pairings intact -- Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and Justin Schultz -- but also on uniting the two most physical defensemen to present opponents with a change of pace. If you'll recall, that worked quite well for Oleksiak and Ian Cole, even as it allowed Oleksiak to stay on his stronger left side. They just banged and banged, and it clicked.
I mentioned this to Johnson, and he smiled at that, as well.
"I don't think anyone's ever thought of me as a defensive defenseman," he said. "I like to go for the hit, to play physical, to be aggressive. Nobody's told me anything, but again, I'm open-minded. I'll do whatever it takes to help."
Yet another smile.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY