Sabres Sign Defenseman Erik Johnson to One Year 3.25 Million Dollar Contract

[Brawndo]

 

[Brawndo]

 

[Brawndo]

Was college roommates with Okposo 

 

[Quint]

Good Teppo-like move. They sure love EJ in Colorado: https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/erik-johnson-appreciation-thread.2934075/ 

[Randall Flagg]

There are definitive signs out there that Buffalo is finally changing its reputation. Good to see

[dudacek]

2 hours ago, Quint said:

Good Teppo-like move. They sure love EJ in Colorado: https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/erik-johnson-appreciation-thread.2934075/ 

Thanks for the link.

I did not know he was called the Condor.

Fantastic nickname and he sounds like a fantastic teammate.

Not sure what he’s got left on ice; hope he can roll back the clock one last time.

But I very much think he’s going to replace Andy in the room and grow the culture.

I like this move.

[French Collection]

26 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Thanks for the link.

I did not know he was called the Condor.

Fantastic nickname and he sounds like a fantastic teammate.

Not sure what he’s got left on ice; hope he can roll back the clock one last time.

But I very much think he’s going to replace Andy in the room and grow the culture.

I like this move.

Quite a few people are hoping for him to go back at the deadline to provide them some depth.

I watched their Cup run closely and he did step up his game after their injuries on D.

With the Sabres current depth they don’t need EJ to play a lot. He can be third pairing an rotate in and out depending on matchups. Load management can keep him and the rest of the D corps healthier.

[North Buffalo]

5 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Was college roommates with Okposo 

 

Just listened to whole interview: Impressions he looks like a linebacker with those shoulders and love his emphasis on team defense... Oloffson should take some notes regardless if he is still with Sabres... Hope he can add to the D leadership what OK does for forwards..

Edited July 2, 2023 by North Buffalo

[nfreeman]

5 hours ago, Quint said:

Good Teppo-like move. They sure love EJ in Colorado: https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/erik-johnson-appreciation-thread.2934075/ 

Wow.  I really enjoyed reading that thread.  Recommended to all.

Some nuggets (recognizing that these are all message board Avs fan takes):

 

Quote

 

I'll miss his increasingly rare end-to-end rushes, and his ability to absolutely eliminate guys in the corner. But what I'll miss most is his leadership and character. I never once heard him complain when he was moved down to first the 2nd pair and then the 3rd pair. He always had thoughtful answers for the media, and didn't shy away from things like the Duchene situation like most would have.

 

while he was just a depth piece in the 2022 regular season, he stepped up big time in the playoffs [when Colorado won the Cup -- he averaged 17 min per game in 20 playoff games that year]. He was rock solid as Bowen Byram's partner, forced into a top-4 role after Sam Girard went down to injury.

 

His jersey belongs in the rafters someday and I will fight anyone and everyone who says otherwise.

 

"You know, at the end of the day we all want to play for the Colorado Avalanche and do great things here.... he didn't, and we wish him well." - EJ's passive aggressive comments on Matt Duchene demanding a trade

Made me love him even more.

 

Given all of that I'm glad in 21/22 he got back to something like the levels he had to play at for the 4/5 years he was the best defenseman we had. I still remember all the arguments about whether he was a number 1. Ultimately even aside from his play, he's the sort of guy you're just glad is representing your team.

 

Easily one of my favorite Avs of all time. A warrior, leader, class act. One of the best guys in the sport.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

This is the kind of vet signing I thought the Sabres needed on D.  The KO of the D.

[French Collection]

I listened to his zoom call.

He still enjoys the game and the locker room stuff. That’s why he’s still going.

He said something I believe in, defense can be taught while offense flows from the talent.
He emphasizes that the biggest step to winning  is to get the entire team buying into team defense.

[LGR4GM]

 

[shrader]

I haven't watched any of the videos so apologies if it was already mentioned. He was the longest tenured Avs player, right? I never even considered him as someone that would ever move on. 

[Doohickie]

8 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

Oloffson should take some notes

I hope he does.  He's got pretty good hockey attributes; his biggest detriments are between his ears- either he doesn't know the right thing to do or chooses not to do the right thing.  And it's not all the time.  Before his injury he was actually playing some good two-way hockey but once he lost his ice time didn't really fight to get it back.  He should talk to Peyton Krebs who would tell him, "You have the ability, Victor, but you can't just do what you want to do; you have to do what the team needs."

[Doohickie]

5 hours ago, French Collection said:

He said something I believe in, defense can be taught while offense flows from the talent.
He emphasizes that the biggest step to winning  is to get the entire team buying into team defense.

This sounds very similar to things Granato said when he took over.  He basically said defense be damned we need to develop the chemistry to score; offense is harder to create than defense, and he was focusing on offense.  Bringing in Johnson may signal it's time to bring the defense up a few notches.  Team defense.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's the frequently 7D but spends a lot of time off the ice developing that Team Defense mindset.

51 minutes ago, shrader said:

I haven't watched any of the videos so apologies if it was already mentioned. He was the longest tenured Avs player, right? I never even considered him as someone that would ever move on. 

Hockey's a tough business.  Would have have been surprised if the Sabres moved on from Girgs?

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

I haven't watched any of the videos so apologies if it was already mentioned. He was the longest tenured Avs player, right? I never even considered him as someone that would ever move on. 

Longest in Colorado sports and he was very open that he had no intention of leaving; it was the team’s choice.

[7+6=13]

Interesting that when asked, what changed in Colorado from trying to build into a contender. He said, first we had to get guys in the locker room that wanted to be there and eliminate bitching, complaining and selfishness. 

 

Sounds very familiar. 

[Quint]

I know not many of you like Bobby Hull but he was an all-time great and knew his hockey. Here he talks about what makes a team great. It echoes what Erik Johnson says. A team is a bunch of guys with good heads and good hearts that cares about the other guy first. Discussion about what makes a team starts at 1:25.

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I love this guy's attitude.  He is what the Sabres D needed.

[MattPie]

7 hours ago, 7+6=13 said:

Interesting that when asked, what changed in Colorado from trying to build into a contender. He said, first we had to get guys in the locker room that wanted to be there and eliminate bitching, complaining and selfishness. 

 

Sounds very familiar. 

Who knows what will happen, but this *could* turn out to be a critical signing. Not necessarily for the on-ice play, but imagine having a guy in the room saying, "when I was in Colorado in this exact spot, we did *this* and my name is on the Cup".

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, MattPie said:

Who knows what will happen, but this *could* turn out to be a critical signing. Not necessarily for the on-ice play, but imagine having a guy in the room saying, "when I was in Colorado in this exact spot, we did *this* and my name is on the Cup".

I can just imagine if we still had Eichel he'd be mouthing "blah blah blah" behind Johnson as he said it.

Oh, and rolling his eyes of course.

[Pimlach]

51 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I can just imagine if we still had Eichel he'd be mouthing "blah blah blah" behind Johnson as he said it.

Oh, and rolling his eyes of course.

... and not letting him sit at the cool kids table at lunch.  

[klos1963]

6 hours ago, Doohickie said:

I can just imagine if we still had Eichel he'd be mouthing "blah blah blah" behind Johnson as he said it.

Oh, and rolling his eyes of course.

and what's Eichel doing instead?  Celebrating his name on the Cup.

[Doohickie]

3 hours ago, klos1963 said:

and what's Eichel doing instead?  Celebrating his name on the Cup.

Okay, but he was not and did not want to be part of the solution here.  He had his chance to be a leader of the Sabres, to build something.  He put up big numbers but in the locker room he was part of the Sabres toxic culture.  That was my point.  With all the feel-good vibes the Sabres have looking forward, if Eichel were still here he'd be undermining them.

[7+6=13]

41 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Okay, but he was not and did not want to be part of the solution here.  He had his chance to be a leader of the Sabres, to build something.  He put up big numbers but in the locker room he was part of the Sabres toxic culture.  That was my point.  With all the feel-good vibes the Sabres have looking forward, if Eichel were still here he'd be undermining them.

I agree, this couldn't be done with Eichel.  Of course he's an awesome talent but he needed to go somewhere he didn't have to lead - he just needed to play good.  We needed him to do both and it's not him.