Ryan Johansen: 13 Seasons and a Faith With No Deadline
Retired in March 2026 after 905 games, Johansen told the Sports Spectrum podcast how he came to faith in Jesus.
Ryan Johansen played 905 games in the NHL, announced his retirement in March 2026, and on October 23, 2026, shared his faith story on the Sports Spectrum podcast.
His career began in 2010, when the Columbus Blue Jackets picked him in the draft. He made his NHL debut in 2011 and played five seasons with that team.
He was then traded to the Nashville Predators, with whom he was part of the franchise's first Stanley Cup Final in 2017. After seven seasons there, he arrived in Colorado in 2023, where he played one season.
«Nobody arrives late to a table that is still set.»
In the October 23 episode, he talks with Nate Prosser, also a former NHL player, about faith, hockey and marriage. Sports Spectrum presents the episode as his story of how he came to faith in Jesus, and makes the case that it is never too late to give your life to God.
That idea deserves a pause. Professional sports runs on ages, cuts and deadlines. Life with God doesn't run on that calendar.
When the Jersey Stays in the Locker Room
A high-performance athlete spends half a lifetime being what they do. If you're a forward, a defenseman or a goalie, your name appears next to a number and a position. When that ends, whether through injury, a trade or retirement, an uncomfortable question remains: so who am I now?
Johansen played 13 seasons in the NHL. Scripture doesn't promise that the end of a career will be easy; it promises something better than applause. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV).
Notice the order: first you are a son or daughter, then you are a player. Not the other way around. When the order flips, retirement becomes a funeral and the contract becomes a little god.
The "It's Too Late for Me"
There's a phrase that shows up just when someone starts thinking about God: "it's too late for me." It comes after a fall, after years of indifference, after feeling like everyone else grew up in church and you showed up with nothing.
Jesus told the parable of a vineyard owner who hired workers at different hours and paid the last the same as the first (see Matthew 20:1-16). The focus is on the owner's generosity, not on the complaint of those hired first. Nobody arrives late to a table that is still set.
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, ESV).
Grace doesn't wait for you to look presentable. It finds you in the locker room, on the bench or in the stands.
Success Is Not the Receipt for Faith
Watch out for a common trap: thinking that if God enters your life, your next contract will be better and injury won't come. That's not what the Bible teaches.
What changes goes deeper. You know whom you belong to when the scoreboard no longer tells you anything. The gospel doesn't promise you a starting spot; it promises you a Father. That relationship doesn't depend on your stats, your age or your résumé.
If Johansen's retirement leaves you with a question, let it be this: what is holding you back? This week you can take a concrete step. Talk to someone at your church, read Matthew 20 slowly, and ask God what is holding you back. It's never too late to give him your life.
