Report: Jack Johnson requests trade from Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Jack Johnson has requested a trade, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline.

Johnson has two goals and five assists in 46 games and is earning $4,357,143 this season, after which he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

The 31-year-old has been a Blue Jacket since being acquired in the middle of the 2011-12 season from the Los Angeles Kings.

He entered Friday’s action averaging just 19:25 minutes a game this season, the lowest total of his career.

The third-overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft has long struggled in possession metrics, having never posted a full season with a Corsi above 50 per cent.

The Indianapolis native has represented the United States at the Olympics in 2010 and World Cup in 2016.

One of Columbus’ alternate captains since 2013, Johnson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November of 2014, after his parents took out several high-interest loans against his future earnings before defaulting on over $6 million worth of debt.

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