Barry Trotz won’t officially take over as general manager of the Nashville Predators until July 1.
That hasn’t stopped him from making some other things official since it was announced in February he would succeed David Poile.
On Saturday, Trotz traded center Ryan Johansen to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for center Alex Galchenyuk, a 29-year-old center who will be an unrestricted free agent July 1. The Predators will retain a half of Johansen’s $8 million salary for the next two seasons, after which Johansen will become an unrestricted free agent.
The trade comes in wake of Trotz firing former head coach John Hynes and hiring Andrew Brunette to replace him. It also came four days before Trotz was to oversee his first NHL Draft, which begins Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena.
Johansen, a 30-year-old center, missed the final 27 games of the regular season after his right ankle was sliced open by a skate on Feb. 21, causing him to have surgery. He finished 2022-23 with 12 goals and 16 assists in 55 games. He averaged just 15 minutes, 46 seconds of ice time, the lowest number of his 12-year-career, save for his rookie season.
Trotz said after the season that Johansen was “chasing a moving train” in reference to his role on the team.
“The league is getting quicker,” Trotz said. “Joey is a skillful player. He has size, he’s good on faceoffs, he’s got lots of good things to offer. But the game is getting quicker and (speed is not) one of his strengths.
“So how do you get that half second back? And then getting into a role where it makes sense for him as well. So right now I think he’s chasing the moving train a little bit. He can catch it, but he’s going to have a really good summer.”
In eight regular seasons with the Predators, Johansen had 110 goals and 252 assists and won 54.1% of his faceoffs. He had 17 goals and 31 assists and won 54.8% of his faceoffs in 61 playoff games with Nashville. He was acquired during the 2015-16 season from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Seth Jones.
Johansen helped lead the Predators to their unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, recording 14 goals and 47 assists that regular season, and three goals and 10 assists that postseason. However, he missed the entire Stanley Cup series because of a left thigh injury.
His struggles gained momentum in 2019-20, when he had just 14 goals and 22 assists in 68 games. He had seven goals and 15 assists in 48 games in 2020-21 before bouncing back to post 26 goals and 37 assists in 79 games the following season.
Galchenyuk has 146 goals and 207 assists in 654 career regular-season games.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Predators trade Ryan Johansen to Colorado Avalanche
