Erik Johnson Eclipses 900-Game Milestone

Mr. 900.
Erik Johnson surpassed the impressive 900-career game milestone on Wednesday night as the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.

It's been quite the journey for Johnson, who was drafted first overall in 2006 by the St. Louis Blues, but joined the Avalanche in 2011 via trade and has gone on to play 697 games for Colorado, marking the seventh most in franchise history.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound blueliner has gone on to amass 336-career points (88G, 248A) throughout his 15-year NHL career and has produced 245 of those points (68G, 177A) with the Avalanche.

"He's such an important part of this team," J.T. Compher said of his teammate. "He's a great guy in the locker room. He takes his game very seriously and takes care of himself. He's just a good guy in the room. He can keep it light. I've always enjoyed having him as a teammate. For him to get to 900, I'm just really happy for him."
Johnson is the longest tenured member of not just the Avalanche, but the current longest-tenured athlete among any of Denver's four major sports teams (including, the Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rockies).
The 34-year-old even overlapped playing alongside Avalanche legends like Adam Foote, Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk as well as being coached by Patrick Roy. As a staple among the team and a linchpin of the team's core, Johnson has also served in a leadership role from 2017-2021. In addition to observing the role of the defenseman in the NHL transition from stay-at-home and hard-hitting, to mobile and offensively-inclined, Johnson has experienced everything from the lows of the 48-point in 2016-17 to the ultimate achievement of victoriously hoisting the franchise's third ever Stanley Cup last June.
"He's been great for me," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said of Johnson. "When I came to Denver, I was a young coach and he was one of the veteran guys. I like a lot of the things that Erik does on the ice. Off the ice, he's just a great person, a great teammate, always comes to the rink with a smile on his face, loves being around the guys, he keeps it light a lot of times as you know with EJ."

And while eclipsing the 900 game-milestone is quite the admirable accomplishment, the journey to reaching it hasn't occurred without some unfortunate adversity and ailments as Johnson has never dressed in a full 82-game season at any point during his career.
Yet, at 34 years old, Johnson is one of just five skaters who have dressed in all 43 games for the Avalanche - who have been plagued by injuries - this season and averaging 17:43 minutes per ice, leads the team in hits with 78 and is second in blocked shots with 70, all of which is a testament to Johnson's unwavering drive and commitment to his craft.
"It hasn't always been the easiest road with him and what not," Bednar said. "Last year was probably his most healthy year since I've been here and it just happens to be the year we win. This year, he's one of the guys that hasn't missed a lot of time with injuries in our lineup. Good for him to figure out a way to play at a high level, but also to be able to stay in the lineup, avoid injuries and to do the work that he needs off the ice in order to help our team. 900 games is no easy feat, I'm really proud of him."