3 former Colorado Avalanche players thriving elsewhere to start 2023-24

1. Jonas Johansson - Tampa Bay Lightning

This one especially hurts because of the situation both teams are in. The Tampa Bay Lightning signed Jonas Johansson to replace Brian Elliott this offseason. He's been best used as a third option throughout his career, but when Andrei Vasilevskiy is your goalie, you don't need many backup nights. That is unless a devastating injury plagues one of the best goalies in the world. That's exactly what happened to Vasilevskiy, who hasn't played a game this season after back surgery.

Johansson has been fine in relief. He has a .895 save percentage. It's not anything to go home about, but it's better than anyone expected from Johansson. He's been able to keep his head above water.

This isn't breeding confidence for anyone, but we bet the Avalanche wish they still had Johansson's rights. The Avs lost starting goalie Pavel Francouz for the season. Now, they have Alexander Georgiev and Ivan Prosvetov. Prosvetov has kept his head above water as well, but we'll see if he ends up better than Johansson.

At the end of the day, the Avalanche believe they can replace what's been lost. They still have the trade market to find additions if the likes of Tatar or Drouin aren't working out. Their losses signed long-term deals they weren't willing to sign. It might work out in the long run, but the short term is showing they might miss their former teammates.