Colorado Avalanche: 5 Players Who Must Work Together in Erik Johnson’s Absence

DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 18: Erik Johnson
DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 18: Erik Johnson
4 of 6
Next
DENVER, CO – FEBRUARY 06: Erik Johnson
DENVER, CO – FEBRUARY 06: Erik Johnson /

The Colorado Avalanche must rely on several players to step up and work together in Erik Johnson’s absence.

The Colorado Avalanche are without their best defenseman, Erik Johnson. He has officially been put on injured reserve. At the time of writing, details hadn’t been released about his injury. However, I’m pretty sure he’s done for the season.

I can’t overstate how big of a loss this is for the Avalanche. Remember, the loss of Johnson to a broken leg last year coincided with their freefall. Johnson brings a host of both tangibles and intangibles.

While he’s not a high-scoring defenseman, he’s a talented two-way d-man who can eat up the ice with his long stride in impressive coast-to-coast plays.

When Johnson does quarterback the power play, he’s always in a good position to keep the puck in the zone. As I’ve always said, he’s got a bomb of a shot from the point.

Johnson is the cornerstone of the defense, the captain of the blueline. He’s also one of the main physical presences.

Johnson has always been a leader. He’s know for being the voice in the locker room. I like to think of him as Gabriel Landeskog‘s henchman. Landeskog is about inclusion — Johnson is about making sure you’re doing your best.

Erik Johnson is the best chance the Avalanche have at stopping opponents. Whether it’s Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, or whomever else comprises the opponent’s top line, Johnson is the one you want on the ice.

In that vein, Johnson is the main man when it comes to the penalty kill. He’s been known to play the entire two-minutes of the power play.

He eats up game minutes, averaging around 24 minutes time on the ice.

Those aren’t some big shoes to fill — those are a lot of shoes to fill. Johnson is an integral aspect of the Avalanche team. So, it’s not a matter of a few players or even all players stepping up to fill his shoes. Rather, the players are going to have to work together as a committee to fill in the gaps in Johnson’s absence.

VANCOUVER, BC – JANUARY 2: Anton Rodin
VANCOUVER, BC – JANUARY 2: Anton Rodin /

Tyson Barrie, Power Play

Tyson Barrie is only 5-foot-10 to Erik Johnson’s 6-foot-4. He’s never going to have the wingspan of Johnson. So, yes, he’s not going to be able to reach the puck the same way Johnson does. However, he should still get into a better position and at least try to stop it from whizzing past him over the blueline rather than just watch it like he usually does.

That said, Barrie doesn’t need to have a bomb of a shot like Johnson. No one is questioning his offensive skills. Indeed, it’s pretty much the best part of his game.

Barrie has three power play goals on the season. The most he’s ever had in a single year is four, in the Golden Why Not Us season. Even with the return of Nathan MacKinnon, the Colorado Avalanche’s power play has been ineffective at best.

The team could really use Tyson Barrie to quarterback the power play into a better effectiveness. He had five points last night, all on the power play — keep it up, T-Beaut.

DENVER, CO – JANUARY 06: Blake Comeau
DENVER, CO – JANUARY 06: Blake Comeau /

Blake Comeau, Penalty Kill

The Colorado Avalanche penalty kill has been significantly better than their power play. They stand at #4 in the NHL with a penalty kill percentage of 83.3%. Johnson has been the Avs’ main penalty killer, though. He’s second in the entire NHL for average minutes on the penalty kill.

Another mainstay of the penalty kill is winger Blake Comeau. He plays a different role than Johnson, for sure. And he doesn’t have the size. However, Comeau has the grit of Johnson. He can hound the opponent players and help box them out.

Comeau has been good with his penalty kill positioning. I’d like to see him step up every aspect of his penalty killing prowess.

DENVER, CO – FEBRUARY 18: Nathan MacKinnon
DENVER, CO – FEBRUARY 18: Nathan MacKinnon /

Nathan MacKinnon, Leadership

Some people are just natural leaders, and Erik Johnson is one of them. I’ve noted for years how easily he leads. I’ve watched him mentoring younger players, especially fellow defensemen, and be a liaison between officials and the team — and this was before he was wearing a letter. Apparently he’s also quite a force in the locker room.

Gabriel Landeskog is another natural leader, but I’m satisfied he’s playing his role to the hilt. What I’d like to see is for fellow alternate captain Nathan MacKinnon to take on more of a leadership role.

I admit, I’ve never seen MacKinnon as a natural leader, certainly not like Johnson. However, he’s the team’s best player, so he leads by example. Our Nate isn’t the most articulate. However, as the best player on the team, he’s got some clout. He needs to pick up his leadership skills for sure — even if that includes some criticism.

DENVER, CO – APRIL 04: Duncan Siemens
DENVER, CO – APRIL 04: Duncan Siemens /

Duncan Siemens, Shut-down Play

More from Mile High Sticking

If you imagined a rookie on this list, that rookie was probably not Duncan Siemens. You were more likely to imagine Samuel Girard. However, Girard and Johnson are very different styles of players. And Girard isn’t just a rookie — he’s a 19-year-old rookie. He’s already filling more of a role than most 19-year-old rookie defensemen.

Siemens, on the other hand, is 24 years old and might well be striding into his peak years. I’m guessing 274 AHL games isn’t what the Avs had in mind when they drafted Siemens 11th-overall in 2011, but Duncan is still a relatively seasoned player at professional hockey.

And what Siemens excels at is shut-down play and being nasty. He only has six NHL games, counting last night. He knows this is his best chance for making a case for being an NHL player — as a nasty shut-down guy.

This might not be quite as effective as Johnson’s finesse defensive game. However, a more concentrated level of this play can help the Avs out a lot.

The Colorado Avalanche’s Nikita Zadorov brings down the St. Louis Blues’ Paul Stastny in the first period on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The Blues won, 3-1. (Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS via Getty Images)
The Colorado Avalanche’s Nikita Zadorov brings down the St. Louis Blues’ Paul Stastny in the first period on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The Blues won, 3-1. (Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS via Getty Images) /

Nikita Zadorov, Ice Time and Physicality

Defenseman Nikita Zadorov is the closest one-to-one “replacement” for Erik Johnson. That’s asking a lot of our wild stallion, but it’s what we have.

I’d say that Johnson being out is Zadorov’s chance to prove he can get past his immature tendencies — taking bad penalties, getting out of position to make a big hit — and be a true top pairing defenseman.

Zadorov should see a lot of ice time. True, Barrie and Barrie’s partner, Patrik Nemeth, got more ice time than Zadorov. However, as he proves his more mature play, the team should start to rely on him more and more.

One way he can dominate is with his physical play. It’s a natural part of his game, maybe even more so than with Johnson. The key is to avoid getting out of position and incurring penalties.

Next: Johnson Aims to be a Mentor

As you can see, it’ll take a village to “replace” Erik Johnson. As we saw in last night’s game, defense is somewhat optional without Big EJ in the lineup.

The Colorado Avalanche are going to need all their players to step up a notch to make up for Johnson’s loss if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Next