"Grateful and Lucky": Johnson Celebrates Remarkable Journey to 1,000 NHL Games
Erik Johnson values the lengthy journey he has traveled to achieve 1,000 games in the NHL. The defenseman of the Philadelphia Flyers is aware that the journey could have ended earlier.
“I’ve certainly played long enough to have hit it a while ago, But I’ve had some real tough injuries, some I wasn’t sure I was going to come back from, from knees to concussions to whatever. I’ve had some tough ones that I really had to grind and rehab and come back from. Certainly affected the timeline of it, for sure. But I’ve just tried to wake up every day and just attack whatever’s been thrown at me and just grind away and attack my rehab, attack my training, and just try and play as long as I can, as hard as I can. I just love coming to the rink, showing up and playing and working.” : Johnson said.
His ability to keep playing despite the challenges he’s faced in his 17 NHL seasons demonstrates a mental strength that matches the physical endurance needed to play for such a long time.
Johnson is set to join the exclusive club of NHL players who have played in 1,000 games, becoming the 403rd player to do so. He will achieve this milestone in the Flyers’ next game, potentially on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Center. ET; NBCSP, MSG-Broadcast.
This season, the 36-year-old player has contributed two points (one goal, one assist) and is logging an average of 12:58 of ice time in 12 games. Chosen as the No. 1 pick in the 2006 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues, the 36-year-old player has accumulated 345 points (94 goals, 251 assists) in 999 regular-season games across various teams including the Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Sabres, and Flyers. Additionally, he has recorded 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 55 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He assisted in the Avalanche’s victory in the Cup of 2022.
He is the 23rd player to be chosen as the No. 1 draft pick and play 1,000 games, being the sixth defenseman alongside Roman Hamrlik (1,395), Chris Phillips (1,179), Ed Jovanovski (1,128), Denis Potvin (1,060), and Rob Ramage (1,044).
“I feel super grateful and lucky, I have great parents to support me, to push me, and great coaches and teammates and just a lot of people that supported me along the way, that helped me get to this point. It’s just a cool milestone. It’s super-tough to attain, and you have to play for a long time. I mean, the average NHL career is something like four years, maybe. You just have to have people in your corner, I think. You have to work hard, you have to be a good player, you have to have some injury luck, I guess, whether you could say that about me or not.” : Johnson said.
It can be confidently stated that Johnson has not had much luck with injuries, starting from what should have been his second NHL season. Injuring his right knee with torn ligaments during a golf outing just two days before training camp caused him to miss the entire 2008-09 season.
At 20 years old, he resided in St. Louis independently, experiencing life without hockey for the first time, a sport that had always been a consistent presence in his life. He came back to participate in 79 games during the 2009-10 season, and played 22 more the following year before being traded to the Avalanche on Feb. 18, 2011.
That started a 13-year streak where he appeared in 717 games, the second highest for a defenseman in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history, and recorded 246 points (68 goals, 178 assists), ranking sixth for the franchise in that position. However, the injuries increased as the points accumulated.
An injury to his right knee forced him to miss the last 34 games of the 2014-15 season. During the 2016-17 season, he was absent for the last 36 games due to a fractured right fibula obtained while blocking a shot. During the 2017-18 season, he missed the last 11 regular-season games and the opportunity to compete in the Stanley Cup Playoffs due to a broken kneecap.
The concussion he suffered on Jan. 30, 2021 almost made him consider retiring, jeopardizing his pursuit of playing 1,000 games.
Image Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
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