Columbus Trades Ryan Johansen To Nashville For Seth Jones

MEGA trade. This was rumored in various outlets for about a week, but it’s shocking that these two teams made a hockey trade of this magnitude in the middle of the season.

The Ryan Johansen-John Tortarella relationship seemed doomed from the start and Ryan Johansen has made it pretty clear that he wanted out of Columbus. It’s shocking that CBJ was able to pry such a high end DMan in return. It’s not too often you can scoop up a 22 year-old defenseman who is 6’4 210lbs, and can skate like the wind. Defense has been an issue for CBJ for basically their entire existence and now they have Murray and Seth Jones in the fold.

Maybe the Preds just looked at their team and decided that they have enough D with Weber, Josi, Ellis, and Ekholm and didn’t want to go through the headaches of trying to re-sign Jones this summer when he becomes a restricted free agent. Obviously Nashville has been in need of offense, and centers in particular, for a while now. Johansen definitely fills that No.1 Center role if he can return to the form he showed a couple years ago. He’s also under club control next year at $4M. That’s a big deal for a budget team like Nashville. Johansen up front with Neal, Forsberg, Mike Underwood, Wilson, and Ribeiro is a pretty good group.

Columbus is in tank/rebuild mode and we’re in a position where they almost HAD to trade Johansen. Great trade for the Blue Jackets under the circumstances. Much riskier move for the Preds who see themselves as a contender. Maybe this is the move that puts them squarely in the playoff picture. I think Johansen will thrive under a coach like Laviolette. Could be the rare trade that works out for both teams.

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