The Colorado Avalanche are set to bounce back from an off-year in 2015 and move forward with a talented group of players, forming the foundation of a good organization. One of those pieces, defenseman Erik Johnson, has been identified as a player that will be a cornerstone moving forward, as the Colorado Avalanche signed him to a 7-year, $42 million deal on Tuesday.Johnson was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2016 season, but locking him up was a priority for management and the deal was done, giving him a cap raise from $3.75 million to $6 million per year, starting in the 2017 season.
In 2015, Johnson finished with 12 goals and 23 points in 47 games with the Avalanche, before suffering a major knee injury in January, which cost him the back half of the year. His 0.49 points-per-game average was considerably good, as he still finished the year 66th among all defensemen in scoring.
The early projections on Johnson are a little spread out, despite his good numbers. The Pooler's Guide has him coming in at 43 points, which tops the magazines, so he should figure to be a good add, if he stays healthy.
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