Johnston ‘living the dream’ as 21-year-old with Stars

DALLAS -- Wyatt Johnston is still pinching himself in his third season with the Dallas Stars.

The 21-year-old forward has 60 points (24 goals, 36 assists) in 65 games this season and was rewarded by the Stars with a five-year, $42 million contract ($8.4 million average annual value) on March 7, the same day they acquired Mikko Rantanen in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I’m living the dream right now, playing in the NHL and living in a place I love to be,” Johnston said. “To be able to get that done and know that I’ll be here the next five years, it’s hard to explain. It’s just so exciting."

A first-round pick (No. 23) by Dallas at the 2021 NHL Draft, Johnston ranks third on the team in scoring behind forwards Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene (66 points each). It’s the third straight season he’s scored at least 24 goals, and he’s on pace to set a career high in points, with 17 games still to play in the Stars’ regular season. Johnston had 65 points (32 goals, 33 assists) in 82 games in 2023-24.

More impressive is the rate he’s produced following injuries to forwards Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment. After getting off to a slow start because of an undisclosed injury sustained during the preseason, Johnston has 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 29 games since Jan. 1, which ranks seventh in the NHL in that span.

Johnston has also accepted a leadership role for the Stars, being named an alternate captain following a knee injury to defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Jan. 28.

“It's already his third year in the NHL, which is crazy to think at his age, but he goes about his business the way a leader should,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “Prepares the right way, says the right things, plays the right way, so [the ‘A’ is] a little reward for him of, I'm sure, what's to come, which is going to be a big leadership part here of the Dallas Stars going forward.”

The Stars (42-21-2) enter their game at the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET.; MAX, truTV, TNT, ALT, SN, TVAS) second in the Central Division, 10 points behind the Winnipeg Jets and three ahead of the Avalanche. They will need Johnston’s offensive production and leadership to continue if they hope to win the Stanley Cup this season. After back-to-back seasons of being eliminated in the Western Conference Final, they’re also hoping the acquisition of Rantanen will help get them over the hump.

Rantanen signed an eight-year, $96 million contract ($12 million AAV) shortly after Dallas sent forward Logan Stankoven to Carolina, along with a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a conditional first-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft, a third-round pick in the 2026 draft and a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Rantanen has three points (two goals, one assist) in his first three games with the Stars and had 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 postseason games with the Avalanche, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2022.

“Looking into the future, seeing the guys that are locked down here the next five years, it’s super exciting,” Johnston said. “You want to win games, and you want to win the Stanley Cup -- that’s the most important thing. It’s exciting to have a chance to possibly do that every year.

“Every year I’ve been here, it feels like we’re a team that could win the Stanley Cup. In talking to everyone around the League, people tell you that these opportunities don’t come around all the time. To be in this situation, two years going to the Western Conference Final with a team which we all believe we could have won the last two years. Coming in this year, too, we believe we could win.”

It's one of the many reasons why Johnston is thrilled to be with Dallas. He’s hoping to still be playing when he celebrates his 22nd birthday on May 14 in what will be the third of many birthdays he’ll enjoy in the city the Toronto native now calls home.

“First training camp, first game, everything is new; you don’t know a whole lot,” Johnston said. “You just know the weather is nice and it seems like a happy place to live. As time has gone on, you realize how much you like being here.

“There’s so many amazing people around the organization. I just learned a lot about the city and what it’s like to be a Dallas Star. I love it. It’s the best. I can’t imagine being anywhere else."