When thinking about some of the best individual season performances for the Tampa Bay Lightning over the last 15 seasons, players like Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, and Nikita Kucherov come to mind. Kucherov reaching the 100-assist mark in 2023-24 was remarkable. Stamkos notching 60 goals in 2011-12 was nearly as impressive. All the names one would expect to see are at the top of the list for most points in a single season. However, which players have gone unnoticed for their remarkable play for the Lightning? One is Tyler Johnson, who was elite during the regular season and playoffs during the 2014-15 season.
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Flashback: 2014-15 Art Ross Race
Compared to scoring rates today, the 2014-15 NHL season was lackluster regarding offense. A tight race for the Art Ross Trophy came down to the wire between Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn and New York Islanders captain John Tavares. Ultimately, Benn edged Tavares out by one point, taking home the trophy with 35 goals and 87 points across 82 games. The season was full of surprise point totals. Some other names in the top 15 include Jiri Hudler and Nick Foligno, who both set career-highs in production that season. Where does the Lightning forward, Johnson, fit in all this?
Tyler Johnson 2014-15 Stat Ranks
Tampa Bay had two players inside the top 15 for point production during the 2014-15 season. Stamkos and Johnson tied for a team-leading 72 points. Stamkos scored 43 goals (second in the NHL that season) and 29 assists in 82 games. On the other hand, Johnson added 29 goals and 43 assists in 77 games. The forwards tied for 14th league-wide in a low-scoring season. Furthermore, Johnson’s 30 primary assists at all strengths tied for eighth-best in the league.
While his production across all strengths was impressive, Johnson’s 5-on-5 play was amongst the NHL’s elite. Johnson tied for third in 5-on-5 points across the entire league in 2014-15 with 48. Moreover, he tied Ryan Strome of the Islanders for fourth with 20 primary assists at 5-on-5. Based on his point totals, Johnson was one of the best players across all strengths during the 2014-15 season, making his performance one of the best in recent history for the Lightning. Still, points are not the end all, so how did he impact the team in other areas of the game?
Tyler Johnson 2014-15 Impact and Linemates
One may ask, what linemates did Johnson have to achieve such an outlier of a season? Johnson was part of the “Triplets” line for the Lightning, which featured 24-year-old Johnson, 21-year-old Kucherov, and 23-year-old Ondrej Palat. This line of youngsters took the league by storm with 200 points combined. They earned some time on the first power play unit, but Johnson and his linemates proved to be one of the best lines at 5-on-5 in the league.
Johnson was an offensive powerhouse based on analytics. Evolving Hockey’s wins above replacement model graded Johnson as one of the best offensive players in the league in 2014-15. He posted a value of 12.8 in the even strength offense category of the model (EVO). However, he did not play well defensively for the Lightning. Johnson finished with a negative defensive impact via the EvolvingHockey and HockeyViz models. Despite his prowess offensively, Johnson had to round out his two-way game to continue his development.
Johnson Led the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Goals That Season
If Johnson’s numbers during the regular season didn’t impress you enough, his totals during the Lightning’s trip to the Stanley Cup Final were even better. That heading is not a typo. Johnson led the NHL in playoff goals in 2015 with 13 in 26 games, despite Tampa Bay falling to the Chicago Blackhawks in the end. His 23 playoff points tied perennial playoff performer Patrick Kane for the most in the NHL.
Johnson was amongst the NHL’s elite in 2014-15 but struggled to replicate his performance throughout his NHL career. He dipped to 50 points the following season in 2015-16, his second-best season for now. Johnson remains an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024. The 5-foot-8 center was a treat to watch. He will be remembered for his stellar performance, almost winning the Lightning a fourth Stanley Cup nearly a decade ago.
