Jack Johnson is acquired by the Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche are bringing back some of their Stanley Cup roster, reacquisition Jack Johnson From the Chicago Blackhawks. Andreas Englund is a player returning to Chicago.

Johnson, 36, certainly isn’t the player who finished third in 2005, or even the one who scored 40 points in 2014-15 for the Columbus Blue Jackets. But given his familiarity with the Avalanche organization and his success last year, it’s a nice reunion for the veteran defenseman.

Colorado is missing Eric Johnson and Cale Makarwhich significantly limits their defense depth. Jack Johnson slides down the depth chart in a similar role as he did last year, playing limited minutes whenever needed, but not making a big impact one way or the other.

Giving up Englund means next to nothing for the Avalanche and shows that there wasn’t really a market for Johnson in the league. The 27-year-old has played 36 NHL games this year and 69 in his career, but is still looking for his first goal. As a pending unrestricted free agent, Englund represents next to nothing for the Blackhawks moving forward.

This essentially boils down to doing Johnson a favor and sending him back to a great team he’s comfortable with after struggling minutes this year. The veteran defenseman played nearly 20 minutes a night in Chicago, more than he has since 2017. He won’t get anywhere near as much playing time in Colorado, but he now has a chance to make another long playoff run before his career winds down. down.

Kevin Weekes of ESPN breached the contract on Twitter.