The Most Predictable Story Of The Offseason

Just freakin' yesterday:

[The Jack Johnson departure] Survey says "probably not"...

"I think the only way you're going to get me out of here is at gunpoint," Johnson told reporters after a win in the conference playoffs.

... but we've been here before.

Today, the Michigan Daily makes a small but appreciable contribution to the profit margins of Ann Arbor-area ulcer treatment purveyors:

Michigan defenseman Jack Johnson may not be as sure about staying in Ann Arbor as he claimed to be all season long. ... "At this point, I'm kind of up in the air, I guess," Johnson said in an article published yesterday in the Raleigh News and Observer. "I still feel hesitant on making the jump. I want to make sure. I'm going to talk to a few people who I really confide in, and after talking to them try to make a pretty good decision. Right now, I'm really torn."

The Wolverine's Michael Spath chips in:

Red's nervous. Been trying to reach the Johnson's but no one is picking up the phone. Not a done deal, but definitely sounds like something is in the works.

Urgh. At least it sounds like if Jack goes he'll do so soon and not leave the team in the lurch a couple weeks before the season as has been the wont of your Helminens and Tambellinis. Still... gunpoint, man.

One bit of good news: '06 forward recruit Trevor Lewis has been named the USHL's player of the year. That's good company to keep: Last year's top forward*, Ferris State's Dan Reidel, scored 31 points as a freshman. The 2003 winner was Ryan Potulny, the nation's leading scorer.

*(MSU goalie Jeff Lerg won the POY award.)