Former Islander Ross Johnston on Return: ‘I’m Forever Grateful’

*This story was from when Johnston returned to Long Island, where he got a video tribute.*

On Wednesday night, former New York Islanders forward Ross Johnston made his return to Long Island.

The 29-year-old spent seven seasons on Long Island, playing 134 games, with nine goals, 15 assists, 355 hits, and 21 fights.

Due to the Islanders’ salary-cap situation, Johnston and his $1.1 million cap hit landed on waivers on Oct. 9, and the Anaheim Ducks claimed him on the 10th.

His former teammates were rather excited Wednesday morning about facing Johnston for the first time.

Related: Islanders Excited For Ross Johnston Reunion

During warmups, a few of Johnston’s former teammates came over to say hello as No. 44 of the Ducks stretched on the side of the red line.

Then, at a television timeout in the first period, the Islanders honored Johnston with a video tribute while the UBS Arena crowd all rose to give him a standing ovation.

Johnston skated around the Ducks bench, showing thanks to the loud applause and the stick taps from his former team.

The Islanders went on to defeat the Ducks 4-3, courtesy of a Simon Holmstrom short-handed goal with 1:33 to play in regulation.

After the game, The Hockey News spoke with Johnston about his return.

“I don’t know if I expected a video tribute or not, but I don’t think you can really prep for that,” Johnston said. “So, it probably hit me a little deeper than I thought it would.”

“I have a lot of great memories here and a lot of close teammates, and I made Long Island home for a lot of years, so it’s special to be back, and the tribute was nice. I’m touched by the Islanders, and I’m forever grateful for my time here.”

The Hockey News asked Johnston just how weird it was to be back and face his longtime teammates for the first time.

“It really is weird,” Johnston told THN. “I think the nerves before the game are kind of on a pedestal, and once you get out there —  and I got into with a few of the guys — it felt more like an inter-squad game against those guys.

“Like I said, a lot of close friends, but once you get out there, everyone’s professional. You play hockey. You play hard.”

In the first period, it seemed like Pageau (5’11, 185 lb) through a right hook in the direction of Johnston (6’5, 230 lb) during a scrum in front of the Ducks goal.

“I gotta go talk to him,” Johnston joked.

From an outside perspective, Johnston was just a depth forward, a fourth-line enforcer. But he meant so much to the culture of this Islanders team, especially in that locker room.

When Johnston did play, his physicality and willingness to stand up for teammates made him an easy player for the fan base to root for.

You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season at twitch.tv/hockeynightny.