The longest-tenured player on the Colorado Avalanche roster is expected to enter free agency next week. Defenseman Erik Johnson isn’t likely to re-sign with the team, per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, ending a 13-season run in Denver.
Given his age and injury history, it wouldn’t surprise many if the 35-year-old Minnesotan has played his last NHL game. While he didn’t live up to his first-overall billing after the St. Louis Blues made him the first player selected in the 2006 NHL Draft, he was one of the more capable two-way defenders in the league during his minute-munching prime early during his time in Colorado. He’s been a member of the Avalanche for more than 12 years, coming over via trade from the Blues in February 2011.
Coming back from multiple significant injuries throughout his career, Johnson’s excellence in a shutdown role in his latter years made him an underrated crucial piece in Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup victory. Averaging just over 17 minutes per game, he recorded five points and a +10 rating in 20 games en route to the championship.
His effectiveness looked diminished this season, though. He struggled to keep up at times and managed just eight assists in 63 games on the year. With the emergence of Bowen Byram as being able to play both left and right defense this year, it muddied Johnson’s role for the future.
He just completed a seven-year, $42MM extension that kicked in for the 2016-17 campaign. If he does opt to extend his NHL career and finds a home with a contender on the open market, it’s hard to imagine a deal worth much more than the league minimum of $775K.
Oh that damn golf cart!
Some players just can’t let go and call it a career.
For the last few years, EJ6 reminded you of a slow-moving freight train just hauling rocks from his D-zone to the neutral zone and back. I don’t think he can keep up with a Flintstones mobile at this point…
Hahahaha man that’s an amusing analogy. Thank you for that image. Something tells me he might have felt exactly that way lol
@aka.nda – As my favorite Dan Robertson might say, “Yabba. Dabba. Doo!” :)
One of my favorite sayings when barbecuing is “I’m gonna cook up a rack of ribs that Fred Flintstone would be proud of”
Wait… who’s saying he isn’t likely to re-sign? The team or EJ?
It would make more sense to me that the team is offering him the chance to see what he can get in free agency and if he’s still around, they’ll sign him for the minimum later on.
A squad like the avs with so many high priced contracts on the books already and issues with depth is exactly the type of squad that could use a guy like EJ