Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson told Peter Baugh of The Athletic (subscription link) that there were three or four other teams that had “intense talks” about a contract for him this summer with his former team in Colorado not being among those once the bidding started to go up. The 35-year-old inked a one-year, $3.25MM deal of the opening day of free agency, a surprising price tag for someone who had just eight assists in 63 games last season. Johnson already has a goal with his new team but is logging a career-low 15:13 per night this season.