Fantasy Spin: Avalanche's Johnson back Saturday

Defenseman Erik Johnson is expected to return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup Saturday against the Dallas Stars, and his well-rounded game should bring depth to his team and fantasy owners.

The Avalanche have turned their season around and are currently clinging to Stanley Cup Playoff position entering their back-to-back set against the St. Louis Blues at home Friday and the Stars on the road Saturday. Colorado's defense relies heavily on Johnson, Francois Beauchemin and Tyson Barrie, so Johnson's return takes some of the even-strength burden off the other two, giving the Avalanche added reinforcement as they strive for more consistency.

Fantasy owners should add Johnson regardless of format, as his Yahoo ownership has dipped since he last played Jan. 4. Johnson is 42 percent owned and ranks 46th among defensemen based on standard category performance.

His value increases if your league counts hits (1.7 per game this season) and/or blocked shots (2.3), as he posted 93 and 107 respectively in 47 games last season and could boost your blue line if he stays healthy for Colorado's 33 remaining games (excluding Friday). In daily fantasy on DraftKings, his coverage of points (16), blocked shots (93) and shots on goal (99) through 40 games has consistently made him a worthwhile middle-range target.

Johnson has seven goals and nine assists this season, with four power-play points (2:23 of PP ice time per game). His return could have a negative impact on Nick Holden (nine percent owned), who is a plus-7 on the season and has emerged as a distributor in Johnson's absence. Entering Friday, Holden leads Avalanche defensemen in scoring since Jan. 6 (six assists, one PPP in eight games) with 16 SOG in more than 24 minutes of ice time per game (2:20 on PP) in that stretch.

Holden's ice time, especially on the power play, could fall to fourth among Colorado defensemen again behind Beauchemin, Johnson and Barrie. While Holden is still worth owning in deep leagues as long as coach Patrick Roy keeps him in the power-play equation based on his recent success, fantasy owners should seize any opportunity to drop Holden for Johnson.

---