Colorado Avalanche Rumors: Considering Erik Johnson as Trade Bait

The Colorado Avalanche cannot really afford to trade away any defensemen; however, Erik Johnson could probably fetch some top six help for the Avs, and more.

I know what you’re thinking, there’s no way the Colorado Avalanche make a trade that involves their best defenseman.

That would be lunacy, you say. However, it’s not like the Avs are particularly plush with forward depth. So, why not shop Erik Johnson and see what kind of offers trickle in.

First, a few poignant marks on Erik Johnson’s career:

• EJ has never played in a full NHL season, as he’s dealt with injury issues throughout most of his career.
• Erik Johnson is 28 years old, so he’s in the prime of his career, but he’s not getting any younger. Soon, he’ll be considered a veteran defenseman on a young team.
• Finally, EJ is signed for the next six seasons, which will carry him through until he is 34 years old. He’s also signed at a rather high price tag of six million per season.

So, why not consider some trade offers for him if they are for the right price. Someone is bound to overvalue EJ either before the deadline, or during the offseason.

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I’ve located some potential targets, and they are organized by the following criteria:

• Each slide gets increasingly more viable as a trade option. So the first slide is the least likely to occur and the last slide is — well, you get the point.
• There are only Eastern Conference teams featured because the Avs would be silly to trade EJ within their own conference.
• The teams listed could use defensive help, and also have some forward depth that they could afford to lose in a trade for EJ.

So, without further adieu, let’s get started.