Veteran leadership and experience are highly underrated character traits in the NHL. When the Philadelphia Flyers acquired Erik Johnson ahead of the trade deadline last year and then signed him to a one-year deal, you could hear the moans and groans of what looked to be another old-head taking a roster spot from a more younger or deserving prospect.
However, Johnson has provided the Flyers with exactly the intangibles they needed, especially as one of the youngest teams in the NHL. With Cam York and Jamie Drysdale on IR with their respective injuries, Johnson has been a near-everyday player and hasn’t looked out of place in any of the games he’s suited up for this season.
The Flyers have tried the the veteran defenseman tactic in the past and it’s brought mixed results. Marc Staal was at the end of the line in his lengthy and illustrious career when he signed his one-year contract last season and it unfortunately showed when he was on the ice. Johnson on the other hand has been more dependable and a great locker room character, among many other things.
The Flyers’ back-end was depleted by the time the trade deadline rolled around with Drysdale, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Nick Seeler on IR and Sean Walker having been traded to Colorado. They acquired Johnson for a 2024 fourth-round pick from Buffalo and in 17 games he tallied 2 goals and 3 points, 29 blocked shots and 50 hits all while averaging 16:26 TOI.
The veteran defenseman quickly re-signed with the club on the first day of the free agent frenzy with both sides looking to get a deal done. With a Stanley Cup ring and 987 games under his belt at the time, Daniel Brière felt it was exactly what his young club needed for the 2024-25 season.
“We’re very happy to bring Erik back for next season,” said Brière. “Since arriving at the deadline, Erik has fit seamlessly into our locker room and logged important minutes for us. His presence and championship experience, especially for our defensive core of players, will be valuable for our team throughout an entire season.”
Johnson was welcomed with open arms and was impressed with how well the locker room was united together.
“I didn’t know anybody on the team, so it was all new to me,” Johnson said on March 26. “But it didn’t take long to see that these guys care about winning and care about each other. If you have those two things, you can do a lot of great things as a team. It has been a lot of fun coming to the rink every day.
“It stands out because I think it’s pretty unique. I haven’t been in a lot of ones that have been this good. I just think there’s a time and place to have fun and there’s a time and place to focus, and I think this team has a really good balance of that. I think they definitely care about each other a lot.”
Brière added that a big reason as to why he was brought back was because of what he could teach the younger defensemen like York, Drysdale, and Egor Zamula among others.
“His leadership in the room was amazing,” he said. “He was fantastic, some of the players loved him, the coaches all loved him. It’s intangibles that he brings. Look, at the end of the day, he’s also a 6-foot-4, right-shot defenseman. He’s not going to be in the way, slowing the growth of our young guys. He’s there to help them grow, that’s the way we see it.”
While those quotes came from Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia back in July, the rhetoric has remained the same since as Johnson prepares for his 1,000th career NHL game on Saturday night against one of his former clubs in the Buffalo Sabres.
While his on-ice play has been important early on in the 2024-25 season, the stuff he was doing off the ice was even more beneficial, especially for the younger players like Jett Luchanko. The rookie moved in with Johnson during his stint at the NHL-level and it was something that the veteran had planned way ahead of time, much to the surprise of his teammates.
“It’s funny, because there were some guys around the room who had been chatting about Jett and what should possibly be happening,” Travis Konecny said. “It just speaks to E.J.’s experience and his veteran presence that he was 10 steps ahead of us and [Luchanko] was already moved into his house.
“I knew he was in the hotel for a long time and just asked him to go to dinner, just chat with him and see if he wanted to move in for however long he was going to be here,” Johnson said. “Whether he was going to be here all year or just a little bit, I know what it was like. I kind of had a person to lean on like that. It can be overwhelming as a teenager coming in and just focusing on hockey, so I think if that’s handled away from the rink, I think it makes your on-ice a lot better.”
With 94 goals and 345 points under his belt, Johnson steadied the ship after being drafted first overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2006. His numbers were never eye-popping but his defensive game was always lauded and wherever he went, he became a focal point of the team.
He spent 13 years in Colorado after he was traded three years into his NHL career from the Blues. He averaged 21:33 TOI with the Avalanche across 717 games, blocked 1,361 shots and delivered 1,269 hits along the way, all the while playing a pivotal role during the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2022.
His teammates are always appreciative of what he brings to the table, his head coaches can’t say enough complimentary things, and as things stand right now, he’s done more than enough to merit his contract in Philadelphia in short order. He’s been dependable and reliable wherever he’s played, and the Flyers can attest to that even with his limited role this year.
When York and Drysdale return from their injuries, it might become a game of musical chairs for the bottom-pair, but if and when Johnson will be called upon, he’ll be ready for the task at hand.
