No. 1 reason Avs are back? No. 6
He is the unsung reason the Avalanche is back from the dead. While everybody is chanting Nathan MacKinnon’s name, the quiet strength of a rejuvenated NHL franchise is defenseman Erik Johnson.
“I’ve been in Denver for parts of eight seasons now, and ever since I got here, I’ve loved playing for this organization and living in this city,” Johnson told me during a recent chat in the Avalanche locker room.
Through all those dark years, when it wasn’t easy to like the Avalanche, what Johnson has done to help transform Colorado from a hopeless loser to one of the hottest teams in the league is a labor of love. Nobody in an Avs sweater deserved the recent 10-game winning streak more than Johnson.
So with the Avs visiting St. Louis on Thursday night, it seemed as good a time as any to write a little ode to patience and perseverance, in appreciation of the defenseman, the leader and the man Johnson has become. Yes, all the losing got him down. But Johnson never allowed the losing to defeat him.
St. Louis is where Paul Stastny ran when he grew
weary of representing Colorado. This is not criticism. He was the face of either the Denver Pioneers or the Avalanche, through good times and bad slumps, for a decade. Local hero is a great gig, but the thing about the fish bowl is: There’s nowhere to hide.
And St. Louis is where Johnson was the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft at the tender age of 18. He was forced to grow up fast. He shredded ligaments in his right knee, won a silver medal with Team USA at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and was never quite the defenseman the Blues expected him to be before being traded to Colorado in 2011.
In his seven previous seasons wearing No. 6 for the Avalanche, Johnson has won a grand total of three playoffs games and never worn a winner’s smile during the handshakes at the end of a post- season series. He has always played better than his team during the most vexing era in Avs history.
Matt Duchene got sick of the losing and bailed. Heck, I can’t blame him for wanting out. Johnson, however, has never backed down. So here’s a fist bump for his stubborn refusal to quit.
“We’ve been through some dark years here,” Johnson said. “But I wanted to stay here and be part of the solution. I didn’t want to jump ship.”
On an Avs squad so young that many of the guys in the room are not burdened by the weight of the franchise’s recent sad history, Johnson is the wise old head. I would argue he is playing close to the best two-way hockey of his career, and at nearly 26 minutes per game, Johnson has never logged more ice time. On his next birthday, in March, he will turn 30 years old, a time when every athlete starts to hear the clock ticking a little louder.
“For me, personally, when I think about all the hard work I’ve put in the past and see the team finally start to come around like it has this season, you see how bright the future is for the Avs down the road,” Johnson said. “And that’s the most encouraging thing for me, a guy who’s going to turn 30 this year. I’m still in my prime. I still feel good. But the best years of this franchise are definitely ahead, and now I can see being part of that.”
Fans ask me all the time: Which athletes are really good guys?
Johnson is good people. As good as it gets.
I’m not here to tell you how to spend your hard-earned money, but if you’re looking for something to represent how much hockey means to Colorado, you could do worse than wear an Avalanche sweater adorned with the No. 6.