Ryan Johansen – and half of his $8 million cap hit – has gone from the Nashville Predators to the Colorado Avalanche.
Incoming General Manager Barry Trotz announced today that the team has acquired forward Alex Galchenyuk from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forward Ryan Johansen.https://t.co/qWm418ziVK
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) June 24, 2023
Johansen still has two years remaining on his current deal.
Ryan Johansen in Colorado
As of this trade, Nashville has 20 players signed to their projected roster and over $20 million in cap space. The Avalanche, on the other hand, is in a slightly tighter spot with just 14 players signed and approximately $8.5 million in space available.
Colorado will miss Gabriel Landeskog to start the season, so Johansen is going to help fill that centre gap. Nashville seems unlikely to sign Galchenyuk, despite his versatility and decent AHL production last season. He had zero points in 11 NHL games.
Johansen’s production has varied wildly over the past few seasons. His 12 goals and 28 points in 55 games last season was a sharp decline from 26 and 63 in 79 the year before. The Avalanche clearly thinks at half the price he’s worth the risk.
What This Means
For Nashville
The Ryan Johansen trade means a great deal to the club. Nashville is hardly done, but that’s the only thing for certain. This could be a signal that the Predators are going into a rebuild mode. If so, their next move will be bringing in assets along with other teams’ bad contracts.
Nashville still has a few huge contracts on the books, but they don’t need to move any of them. There are enough young players there that the team can make another playoff push this year. Filip Forsberg is coming back, but he needs scoring help.
The player to watch is goaltender Jusse Saros. He is on a great deal for two more seasons, so it’s not hard to think he’d bring back plenty in a trade. If he goes, then Nashville enters full rebuild mode.
For Colorado
The Ryan Johansen trade makes sense for Colorado. Landeskog’s absence hurts plenty. Johansen isn’t exactly a replacement for him but does help the offence more than anyone currently in the system. They are looking to stay not just in the playoffs but as Stanley Cup contenders.
The Avalanche have a half-dozen unrestricted free agents at forward, and their lack of depth there hurts. But they have plenty of room to trade from positions of strength to shore up this team. Plenty of cap space, too, when Landeskog goes onto long-term injured reserve.
Main Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
