Former Colorado Avalanche blue liner hits 1,000-game plateau

Former Colorado Avalanche blueliner Erik Johnson hit the 1,000-game plateau on Saturday. Johnson, 36, suited up for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Buffalo Sabres.

Johnson, a longtime Avalanche, played in 717 games in Colorado, from 2010 to 2023, racking up 68 goals and 178 assists for 246 points. He was a valuable member of the 2022 Stanley Cup champion team.

In the 2023 offseason, Johnson signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Sabres. However, the Sabres traded Johnson to the Philadelphia Flyers at last season’s trade deadline. This season, Johnson has appeared in 13 games with the Flyers, notching a goal and an assist.

As a renowned leader, Johnson is remembered in Colorado as a hard-checking blueliner. He was a mainstay on the Avs’ blue line during the postseason, appearing in 55 postseason games, including 20 during the Avalanche’s 2022 Cup run. Johnson racked up 13 postseason points, five of which came in 2022.

Avalanche fans will forever remember Erik Johnson as one of the team’s all-time favorites.

1,000-game plateau a long time coming for Erik Johnson

NHL.com caught up with Johnson on the occasion of his 1000th game. Johnson stated, "I've certainly played long enough to have hit it a while ago." Indeed, Johnson could have reached the vaunted plateau. However, injuries have held him back.

Still, Johnson isn’t complaining about reaching the milestone. He is set to become the 403rd NHLer to reach the 1000-game mark, and the 23rd first-overall pick to play 1000 games. He’ll join Roman Hamrlik, Chris Phillips, Ed Jovanovski, and Denis Potvin as number-one-overall blue liners to play 1000 games.

It’s unclear how much longer Johnson can continue playing. But as long as he stays healthy, there’s a good chance he can fill a role for virtually any team in the league.

Meanwhile, his current role is helping shape the rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers into a contending team. Perhaps Johnson won’t play long enough to see the Flyers become contenders once again. But there’s no question the team will have his fingerprints all over it.