Announced on Wednesday, October 1, long time tenured defenseman Erik Johnson has announced his retirement from the NHL

Johnson drafted first-overall by the St Louis Blues in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, played his first three years there before being acquired by the Avalanche in a four team trade on Feb. 19, 2011.

During this 14-year tenure with the Avalanche, Johnson played 731 games, scoring 69 goals and 179 assists for 248 points, including one goal and four assists for five points in the 2021-22 playoffs to help the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.

He currently sits in Avalanche history as eighth in all-time games played (731), eighth in shots (1491), and second in Defensive Point Shares (33.1). He finished his career ranked fourth all-time among Colorado/Quebec defenders in goals and sixth in points. 'The Condor' owns the franchise record for career blocked shots (1,373) and ranks third overall and first among defensemen in hits (1,288).