Colorado Avalanche star retires from NHL
Oct 1, 2025, 4:26 PM | Updated: Oct 2, 2025, 10:59 am
On Wednesday, Colorado Avalanche defensemen Erik Johnson announced that he is retiring from the NHL.
Forever our Condor 🦅 pic.twitter.com/2vbDq14wis
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 1, 2025
Johnson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues, where he played until 2011 when he was traded to the Avalanche. Johnson would be a star for the Avalanche by playing in 731 games, scoring 69 goals and having 179 assists.
Becoming a fan favorite over the years, Johnson helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022 over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
According to the Avalanche, he finished his career ranked fourth all-time among Colorado/Quebec defenders in goals and sixth in points. “EJ” owns the franchise record for career blocked shots (1,373) and ranks third overall and first among defensemen in hits (1,288).
Other than the Blues and Avalanche, Johnson went on and played for the Philadelphia Flyers (two years) and Buffalo Sabres (one year).
Avs head coach Jared Bednar talked about Johnson retiring, “Amazing career, phenomenal teammate, Stanley Cup champion. Couldn’t be happier for him. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do because I know he’s going to show up some place. I think he’d be awesome in the media.”
Johnson is also a big country music fan, so there’s no doubt we’ll likely see him hanging around at a show or two in the future!
