In the least surprising trade news of the year, the Colorado Avalanche have re-acquired defenseman Jack Johnson from the Chicago Blackhawks.
What they gave up, however, is a little surprising.
Heading to the Blackhawks is defenseman Andreas Englund. The 27 year old Swede has been a pleasant surprise for the Avalanche, playing solid defensive hockey and even dropping the gloves when needed. He will almost certainly get a bigger role on a very poor Blackhawks squad.
With Johnson, the Avalanche know what they’re getting. At 36, there isn’t a ton left in the tank, but the team chose that familiarity over the inexperience of Englund. Johnson’s analytics are…not great, but he knows the system and the coaching staff trusts him. Johnson was a tremendous story in the locker room last season, and is very well liked by everyone in the organization.
Considering this is a plain swap of defensemen, don’t be surprised if the Avalanche make another move on defense before the NHL trade deadline.
We’ll have more on this trade at CHN soon.
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