By Jordan Long
The Colorado Avalanche as we all know were defeated by the Seattle Kraken in game 7 in the first-round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Defenseman Erik Johnson might retire from the game. He is an unrestricted free agent and the longest tenured Avalanche player.
Johnson was selected #1 overall in the 2006 NHL Draft. Johnson though didn’t play in the NHL until the 2007-2008 season. He started his career with the St. Louis Blues. In his first year, he scored 5 goals and added 28 assists for a total of 33 points. The very next year, those numbers improved to 10 goals and 29 assists for a total of 39 points. It seemed like this was a player who could be the long-term solution for St. Louis on the blue line.
St. Louis decided to trade Erik Johnson to Colorado on February 19th, 2011. Colorado acquired him as well as forward Jay McClement, and a first-round pick. Colorado sent right winger Chris Stewart, defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, and a second-round draft pick to St. Louis. This felt like the Blues were giving up on Johnson after 203 games. In a St. Louis uniform, Johnson scored 20 goals and added 71 assists for 91 points. Colorado thought that Johnson could develop in their system.
Johnson fit in with Colorado. In 717 regular season games with Colorado, Johnson has shown he is a reliable defenseman. He checks opponents off the puck, ending scoring chances. Even when they try to shoot the puck, Johnson will block it so the puck won’t go to the goaltender.
Johnson also can score goals. He totaled 68 goals and 178 assists for 246 points. Of course, the playoffs are where a player wants to skate well. Johnson appeared in 55 playoff games, all for the Colorado Avalanche. There he had 5 goals and 8 assists for a total of 13 points.
This past season, Johnson was showing signs of his age at 35 years old. He wasn’t the same skater or scorer he once was. Johnson appeared in 63 games for Colorado with only 8 assists.
In the first-round playoff loss to Seattle, Johnson played in all 7 games. He recorded 1 goal. Once the horn sounded after game 7, his future is up in the air.
According to the Denverpost.com, Johnson said, “I haven’t really thought about it at all. It’s sad because you put in so much work, and ultimately we did accomplish our goal here (of winning a Stanley Cup). But you don’t want to go out like this. Whether it’s the end of the road or not, I was just proud to play here for as long as I did. And just grateful for everything.”
Johnson knows he is an unrestricted free agent. Colorado could bring him back for one more year. If not, Johnson could call it a career. If that is the case, Johnson walks away from the game playing in 920 NHL games, scoring 88 goals and adding 249 assists for 337 points. Not many players can play that long. He also won the Stanley Cup with Colorado last year, the goal of every NHL player. Johnson has a big decision to make. Colorado will be patient with him so he can make the best choice possible for him.
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