TSN’s Chris Johnston reports the Philadelphia Flyers are expected to re-sign defenseman Erik Johnson to a one-year contract. Johnson was originally acquired by the Flyers from the Buffalo Sabres at the 2024 trade deadline and is expected to play in his 1,000th regular season game this year. The deal will pay Johnson a total of $1MM according to PuckPedia.
After appearing in 50 games with the Sabres during the 2023-24 NHL season, Johnson was moved into a much larger role in the Flyers organization. Johnson went from averaging just under 14 minutes a night in Buffalo to 16:26 minutes a game in 17 games for Philadelphia. Poised for a bottom-pairing role in the City of Brotherly Love — Johnson still packs a punch physically and is a solid veteran presence for any team’s blue line.
If Philadelphia can’t improve or repeat the team’s performance from last season, Johnson should be a tradeable asset come the trade deadline season. Whether it be filling in for injury or rounding out a contending team’s defensive core, Johnson is only two years removed from winning a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. Nevertheless, Johnson still holds tremendous value for the Flyers as young defensemen such as Cam York, Yegor Zamula, and Jamie Drysdale could all benefit from playing alongside the former first-overall pick.
Eh.
Good lord. If this is what to expect from Briere and the Flyers the only reason to watch them this season is Michkov.
This is the result of having little cap room caused by some of the bad contracts brought in by former administrations. They’ve been up front about what they would be doing and couldn’t do all along. They’d be in a better situation if Cutter Gauthier hadn’t f’d them over. If you’ve been patient this long what’s another year or two?