Stars’ Wyatt Johnston joins 30-goal club full of superstars

The Dallas Stars came back from the Olympic break with a resounding 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. They are in the high-flying Central Division and need wins to keep up with the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild. In the Stars’ win, Wyatt Johnston scored two goals, including a powerplay goal to ice it. According to television broadcaster Josh Bogorad, that puts Johnston in elite company. 

“Wyatt Johnston is just the 30th NHL player all-time to record three straight 30-goal seasons before turning 23 years old. The full list of players to do it since 2000: (Auston) Matthews, (Connor) McDavid, (David) Pastrnak, (Patrik) Laine, (Steven) Stamkos, (Evgeni) Malkin, (Alex) Ovechkin, (Ilya) Kovalchuk…And now, Johnston.”

That puts Johnston on the list of the elite NHL goal scorers of the modern era. While Laine has fallen off and injuries have gotten in the way of Stamkos’ career totals, this is a group chock full of Hall of Famers.

The Stars drafted Johnston in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, and he was in the league by the next season. He played all 82 games of his rookie season at 19 years old, scoring 24 goals. In the three years since, Johnston has not missed a game and continued filling up the net. He scored 32 goals at 20 years old, 33 goals last year, and is now at 31. His 23rd birthday is not until May.

Johnston is on a great contract, paying him $8.4 million per year until 2030. The Stars have a salary cap crunch facing them this summer, but Johnston’s production makes him an entrenched part of their core. With a 40-goal season in his sights, the center has not reached his ceiling yet. He is a big reason why the Stars have a chance to win the Stanley Cup, and should be for a long time.

The Stars are back in action Saturday against the Nashville Predators.

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