Jack Johnson won a ring in Denver, and now he’s returning for more.
The Avalanche acquired Johnson in a trade with the Blackhawks on Sunday, sending Andreas Englund to Chicago in an exchange of depth defensemen.
Johnson was a member of the Avs’ 2021-22 Stanley Cup championship team in his lone season in Colorado. The 36-year-old has been in the NHL since 2006-07, playing 1,082 career games for six different organizations.
In Chicago this year, he has four points, all on assists. His average ice time is 19:50.
The 2005 No. 3 overall draft pick returns to Colorado with a higher cap hit than he carried last season. The Avalanche signed Johnson to a one-year deal in October 2021 on a league-minimum deal worth $750,000. In free agency after the 2022 Stanley Cup, Johnson signed a one-year deal worth $950,000 with Chicago.
Englund is also a pending unrestricted free agent this season with a $750,000 average annual value. He has played 36 games at the NHL level this season, more than doubling his career total from his first four seasons with the Ottawa Senators.
Englund was called up to replace an injured Kurtis MacDermid earlier this season, but he exceeded expectations as more than just an enforcer. He was a steady presence on the third pairing, stamping himself as valuable enough that the Avalanche didn’t feel they could put him on waivers after he passed 10 NHL games.
With Erik Johnson (broken ankle) out indefinitely and Cale Makar (concussion) still day-to-day, Jack Johnson is an immediate option to slot into the lineup.
The Avalanche’s ideal playoff defensive setup will feature a top five of Makar, Devon Toews, Bo Byram, Josh Manson and Sam Girard. Beyond that core, Erik Johnson is a question mark, and now Jack Johnson joins Brad Hunt as the organization’s other depth options. Colorado may remain in the market for a defenseman before the March 3 trade deadline, considering the organization did not extract a net gain from Sunday’s trade.
It was the fourth in-season trade of 2022-23 for first-year general manager Chris MacFarland. In December, he acquired Denis Malgin from Toronto. Now in the last month, he has made three trades, including two to acquire skaters who have played for Colorado in recent seasons. Matt Nieto has scored three goals since rejoining the bottom six from San Jose, and on Saturday, MacFarland traded prospect Shane Bowers to Boston for depth goalie Keith Kincaid.
Jack Johnson has played 43 career playoff games, including 13 last season for Colorado en route to his first Stanley Cup.
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