It’s no secret that a 36-year-old Erik Johnson is not going to have a major role on the 2024-25 Philadelphia Flyers, but he knows what he can bring at this point of his career.
The veteran blueliner was re-signed by the team to a one-year, $1-million deal after they acquired him at last season’s trade deadline and is essentially going to replace Marc Staal for being the seventh defenseman. While he might not bring a whole lot of his former top-pairing self on the ice, Johnson knows his role as an experienced leader on the back end. And the one player that might need someone with the 16 years of experience that he does in the NHL, is the incoming phenom Matvei Michkov.