Craig Johnson

Who is Craig Johnson?

Craig Thomas Johnson, is an American ice hockey player who most recently played for the EC Red Bull Salzburg of Austria's Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. He drafted 33rd overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and went on to play 563 games in the National Hockey League. He is best remembered as being the key player the Los Angeles Kings received in the Wayne Gretzky trade of 1996.

Johnson made his NHL debut during the 1994-95 season with St. Louis. He scored the first goal in the Kiel Center when it opened in 1995. On February 27, 1996, Johnson was traded with Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat and two draft picks to the Los Angeles Kings for Wayne Gretzky. He would remain a King for another seven seasons until 2003 where he played for three different teams during the 2003-04 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Johnson moved to Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga, signing with the Hamburg Freezers. After one season he signed with the DEG Metro Stars in Düsseldorf where he spent two seasons. In 2007, Johnson moved to Austria and signed with Red Bull Salzberg.

Johnson is now retired and coaches youth hockey in Orange County, California for SCAHA's Anaheim Wildcats.