Erik Johnson is not at practice on Tuesday as he is getting the day off for maintenance. Just an FYI. No word on whether there is an injury involved or he is just getting a day off to rest. Stay tuned.

Erik Johnson's plus/minus rating has sunk to minus-12. Johnson has the second worst rating on the Avalanche and he's tied for the third worst in the NHL. Johnson does have a respectable nine points in 21 games, but he hasn't scored a goal since March 16th. Johnson, who was the first overall pick in 2006, has been unimpressive in the month of November, but so has most of the Colorado Avalanche. If the team can rebound as the season goes on, then Johnson should be one of the benefactors. Unfortunately, we're not entirely convinced that Colorado will bounce back.

Erik Johnson, a star defenseman obtained by the Colorado Avalanche for quite a lot just before the NHL's trade deadline during the past off-season, does not have a point at home this season. Worse, Johnson's defensive play Wednesday night was poor and he finished a minus-2 in Colorado's 4-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. Johnson is now a minus-8 for the season, with no goals. He fumbled a few pucks and was caught flat-footed going the other way, and was even kept off the first power-play unit at the end. "Totally unacceptable on my part," Johnson said. "I wasn't happy at all (Wednesday night with) how I handled some pucks. We just weren't good enough, and it starts with me. It's our home rink, our hometown - it's just unacceptable."

Erik Johnson has five assists in his last three games. What makes that even more remarkable is that all five points were recorded with the man advantage. Johnson took a step back offensively last season with 29 points in 77 games, but the former first overall pick is capable of much more than that. We wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with about 45 points in 2011-12. That being said, we're a little concerned with his team-worst minus-four rating.

If Erik Johnson needed extra motivation going into the 2011-12 season, the Semyon Varlamov provided him with it. Colorado traded their first round pick in 2012, along with a second round pick in one of the next two drafts, in exchange for Varlamov. That's a big gamble, considering that the Colorado Avalanche were the second worst team in the NHL last season. However, Johnson has a different view. "It's not going to be a (high) pick. It's going to end up being a great trade for us. People are saying we got the short end of the trade and they're happy because they think we're going to finish at the bottom of the league - and we're not going to do that this year," Johnson said. Of course, talk is cheap, but Johnson has been doing much more than just providing quotes this summer. He felt that he was "a little too top-heavy" in past seasons, so he's focused on lower body exercises and improving his footwork. Johnson had 29 points last season, but we wouldn't be surprised if he bounced back with a 40-point campaign.