Trade deadline acquisitions Erik Johnson and Charlie Coyle spoke to Colorado media members prior to tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Johnson could not stop talking about the surreal nature of it all, not to mention the excitement he feels to be back.
I’m super grateful to be back. Super grateful to the Kroenke’s and Joe [Sakic] and Chris [MacFarland] and everybody for believing in me to come back again. I know I’m a little bit older, but I still feel like I offer some value on and off the ice.
You never know if you’re gonna be back to your favorite city, your favorite team where you have so much love and respect for everyone here. So it was just crazy, a crazy whirlwind. I didn’t want to go to sleep last night because I thought I was gonna wake up and it wouldn’t be true. I got in at eight and I didn’t go to bed until midnight. I woke up at five and I was just so ecstatic and got to the rink so early this morning for a skate. I just couldn’t believe I was driving the same route I used to drive and it’s just super cool. I mean, I’m just over the moon.
– Erik Johnson talks about the excitement he feels in being back with the Colorado Avalanche.
He paid a beautiful tribute to his previous club, the Philadelphia Flyers, and also gave the media a little insight on when he knew and how the trade went down.
I mean, it’s unbelievable. I was a whirlwind of emotions yesterday. It kind of went down at the last minute there; I wasn’t sure if anything was gonna get done, but it all worked out, and I was just super excited and super grateful to the Flyers organization. Danny Briere didn’t have to do that for me. but really nice of him. My former teammate and I really enjoyed my time with him and my time in Philly, so a lot of respect to that team and organization for what they did for me.
[The conversation had been going on] the last couple weeks. I had maybe an idea that it could happen. Everything needed to work out with the salary cap and everything, and I know they were talking [Friday] morning. I talked to Danny in the morning, probably around 10:30, and he said that it probably wasn’t gonna work because Philly needed to retain some money, and they didn’t have any retention slots left after Kuzmenko and Lawen got traded. So then I was a little bit bummed because I didn’t know if it was gonna happen for sure. And then, when Casey [Mittelstadt] got traded to Boston, I think they opened up a little room there, and then Danny called me at 2:30 and said, “We have a deal in place if you’d like to go.”
– Erik Johnson details the trade talks and his appreciation for the Philadelphia Flyers.
This is home for the 6-foot-4 defenseman. He lives here during the offseason and said it was nice to sleep in his own bed with his four dogs.
While he’s super grateful to be back to where he considers “home,” he didn’t sugarcoat the drive he has in being back.
I think it’s super nostalgic, but at the same time, I’m here to win. I’m not here to retire. I think that’s the most important thing. I’m here to win another cup and that’s my goal. I’m not here for a swan song and idol on into the sunset. I’m here to win. That’s why I’m here.
– Erik Johnson on his goal in Colorado this time around.
Coyle, despite the “bittersweet” feeling of leaving the Boston Bruins, also expressed a lot of excitement for joining this team.
I’m pretty excited. It’s kind of crazy how fast things change, and a lot of guys go through [it], but when you’re in it, it’s just kind of a whirlwind. Playing for [my] team in Boston, it’s my hometown. I love being there, so it’s definitely bittersweet, but on the other hand, such a great opportunity here to join a really, really good team, and that excites me a lot. So, I’m pretty pumped. I’m really excited…Everyone’s been so welcoming and warm, which has helped with the transition.
– Charlie Coyle’s thoughts on joining the team.
Coyle talked at length about the dangers he used to face playing against this team in Colorado and, when asked about his first impression of the capabilities this team possesses to do well, praised the difficulty they pose.
I mean, playing against them, playing against some of them when I was in Minnesota a lot, [I tried] to get away from them going out east to Boston. It’s not fun playing against these guys. Their power play, trying to contain them there [or] anywhere on the ice. Honestly, they’re always a top notch team. You gotta be on your game and playing against them, it’s a tough task. So, to join that caliber of players and team organization as a whole, it’s very exciting and I feel lucky to be where I am right now and just want to make the most of the opportunity.
– Charlie Coyle on the danger that Colorado possesses as a team.
With how things worked out after all of the trades from the deadline shook out, his former teammate in Boston, Brandon Carlo, was on the plane with him to travel out to Colorado, only because of the upcoming game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carlo’s new team.
It’s just funny how it works sometimes. He’s your teammate, one of your good friends, and the next night, you’re playing against them in the corners with them and going at it. I mean, it kind of helped in a way, when things change like that. His family’s home in Boston, my dad was home in Boston, you kind of have that shared change, I guess, going on, and you kind of talk through it together when in the airport and sitting on the same plane together. It’s just kind of bizarre in a funky way, but he’s a great guy, so it was good to just talk through [our] emotions and things through that with each other and kind of settle each other down, I guess.
– Charlie Coyle on sharing a plane with his former teammate after they were both traded to different teams.
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