Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson had 'great relationship' with Marc Crawford

With 14 years of NHL experience, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson has played for his fair share of coaches. Seven, in fact.

The first was Marc Crawford with the Los Angeles Kings.

Crawford was given a leave of absence from his assistant coach role with the Chicago Blackhawks after allegations of physical and verbal abuse surfaced by some of his former players, including two former Kings.

Forward Sean Avery, who spent part of the 2006-07 season with the Kings, claimed in an interview with the New York Post that Crawford kicked him. Another former Kings forward, Patrick O’Sullivan, alleged Crawford physically abused him and regularly used homophobic slurs. O’Sullivan and Johnson were teammates for three seasons in Los Angeles, including two under Crawford.

Former NHL defenseman Brent Sopel alleged on a podcast Crawford kicked and choked him during their time with the Vancouver Canucks. Sopel later issued a statement on Twitter in which he wrote the stories were intended to entertain and lauded Crawford for making him a better player.

Another former Canucks player, forward Harold Druken, claimed Crawford was physically and verbally abusive, and he made derogatory comments about Druken’s heritage as a native of Newfoundland.

Johnson had a much different experience with Crawford.

“I had a great relationship with him,” Johnson said. “He treated me very well. He was hard and demanding, but I’ve pretty much have had hard and demanding coaches my entire career. Whether it was him or Darryl Sutter or John Tortorella. So it was nothing out of the norm. He always treated me well. I have nothing but good things to say about him.

“Everyone has their own experiences. It was my rookie year. I appreciate my time with him. He was good to me. Demanding. But I’ve got nothing but a lot of respect for him.”

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