Erik Johnson, a fan favorite, returned to Colorado after a three-year hiatus. After the 2022-23 season, he moved on to the Buffalo Sabres for a season. He has spent the last year and a half playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, where he played in his 1000th career NHL game earlier this year. He celebrated when the Avs came to town with Gabriel Landeskog.

However, this year, the 37-year-old defender has been lackluster. He is far from the same first-overall pick by the St. Louis Blues he once was back in the 2006 NHL Draft. Between the Flyers and Avs, he played in only 38 games, including the playoffs.

In his time in Philadelphia, he played in 22 games with a goal and two assists. He averaged only 13 minutes of ice time per game and averaged one penalty a game. He did throw the body, though, with 40 hits in those games.

Johnson was traded back to the Avalanche on March 7 in a straight swap. Going the other way was Givani Smith. The American defender was incredibly grateful for rejoining the team he won the Stanley Cup with in 2022, stating he’d do anything the team needed him to do. That included scraping the ice between plays, he jokingly said.

In EJ’s time back with Colorado, he played in 14 games. He got a goal and an assist. He also slotted in for Games One and Two in the postseason, before being a healthy scratch the rest of the way.

Johnson’s season was short and mostly uneventful, without much to write home about. The fan-favorite is on an expiring contract. Colorado moved on from him before due to this, and other talent on the backend. With his age and usability, he might get only a veteran minimum contract for one year. Even then, that’s not guaranteed, and he could simply hang up the skates.

No matter what’s next for Erik Johnson, fans will surely be thankful for everything over the years. He will certainly have a future in the organization, whether it’s on or off the ice.