Jack Johnson Returning For One Year With Avalanche

Is this the answer to the final defensive spot for the Colorado Avalanche? It might be too early in the summer to answer that question, but now they at least have a contingency plan.

Jack Johnson, the veteran defenseman the team has brought in twice to add depth, is returning for one more year. According to The Athletic‘s Peter Baugh, he will make the league minimum at $775,000.

The 36 year old was re-acquired at the trade deadline last year to help bring depth the blueline. His strong play actually had put him above Erik Johnson on the depth chart to start the playoffs, but a lower-body injury took Johnson out of the lineup until later in the series.

With Johnson signed, the Avalanche now have 6 defensemen ready to go to start the year. In addition, they have Brad Hunt and Kurtis MacDermid available for depth. The low cap hit on Johnson’s deal, however, gives the Avalanche some flexibility to add another defenseman (in addition to a forward) if they choose to. It might be necessary, especially since the likes of Josh Manson, Bowen Byram, and Cale Makar have struggled to stay healthy over the course of a full season.

As of this moment, Colorado has $6,800,000 in cap space with Landeskog on LTIR. They still have to sign Ross Colton and Ben Meyers, but I wouldn’t put Meyers in as a lock to make the opening night roster just yet. Same goes for Fredrik Olofsson.

With July 1 behind the, the Avalanche will likely wait out the market and see if they can get any deals at this point. While they have some room to maneuver, it’s not a lot, so they have to be smart.

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