Flyers acquire Erik Johnson from Sabres for 2024 fourth-round pick

In 50 games with the Sabres this season, Johnson has three goals, averaging 13:48 of ice time, his lowest average over a full season by nearly four minutes. He signed a one-year, $3 million deal with Buffalo last offseason.

Drafted No. 1 overall by the St. Louis Blues, Johnson spent a season with the University of Minnesota before turning professional. After playing three seasons with the Blues, they traded the native of Bloomington, Minn., to the Colorado Avalanche, where Johnson spent the next 13 seasons with the club, scoring 68 goals and 178 assists for 246 points in 717 career games.

Johnson was a big part of the Avalanche’s blue line when they won the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2021-22 season. Through 20 games that post-season, Johnson had a goal and four assists for five points.

The Flyers are 33-23-8 with 74 points, third in the Metropolitan Division and four points ahead of the New York Islanders. The club dealt right-handed defenseman Sean Walker and a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Avalanche for Ryan Johansen and a conditional first-round pick in 2025. The first-round pick is top-10 protected, meaning if Colorado gets a top-10 pick in next year’s NHL Draft, the first-round pick to the Avs will move to 2026, and Philly will get the pick back for 2025.