Morning Flurries: Erik Johnson’s Millennium Milestone

A Stanley Cup Champion reaches another important achievement in his career.

Other than hoping for the Colorado Avalanche to secure a win in the first game of their east coast road trip, there is another reason for Avs Faithful to tune in early to the game tomorrow night. Former Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson played in his 1000th NHL game Saturday night in Philadelphia but saved the ceremony for when Colorado arrives in town to face the Flyers on Monday evening.

With the majority of the festivities on hold, Philadelphia still did an excellent job recognizing Johnson in this major career milestone despite only playing 30 of his 1000 games with the organization.

As we know, Johnson spent the bulk of his career in 13 seasons with the Avalanche. Here he reflects on the long journey from being St. Louis’ first overall pick in the 2006 NHL draft, details overcoming multiple injuries and gives insight on his light-hearted nature which includes a couple stories about pranks he pulled on Avalanche teammates.

Cheers to you EJ, here’s to the next 1000!

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images