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— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) January 6, 2016Ask Nashville Predators GM David Poile to name for you the number one/best center in the 18 year history of his club.
He'll immediately replay:
"We've never had a legit number one center. Period."
Poile changed his club's history on Wednesday afternoon when he created a hockey sonic boom when he traded top four right handed defenseman Seth Jones to the Columbus Blue Jackets for number one center Ryan Johansen.
Move over Chris Stapleton, Lee Brice, Sam Hunt, Keith Urban and Zack Brown.
There's a new country star in Nashville.
Jones is 21 years old and Johansen is 23.
Both stars played their junior hockey for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.
Jones (4th overall 2013 NHL Draft) is 6'4" and 220 lbs. Johansen (4th overall 2010 NHL Draft) is 6'3" and 220 lbs.
After the deal was completed, Poile admitted the difficulty trading one budding superstar for another.
“We’ve had a lot of good players come through here, and we’ve had some good centers, but we have a chance here to have truly our No. 1 center, something that we’ve been coveting for a long time,… Poile said Wednesday evening after completing the deal. “It was a steep price to pay… but having Ryan Johansen at center ice with the defense that we have, our top-four still being intact, I think that is a better balance for our club because it’s a better chance to win on a nightly basis.…
Johansen had a career year when he appeared in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in his home building in Columbus. He scored a career-high 33 goals in 2013-14. He upped his game by tallying a career-high 71 points in 2014-15.
Johansen finishes his Columbus career with 79 goals (4th on franchise list), 114 assists (5th), 193 points (4th) and 10 GWG in 309 games.
In 199 career games in Nashville, Jones scored 15 goals and added 48 assists.
Johansen had become the object of the ire of his former GM Jarmo Kekelainen and new head coach John Tortarella. Johansen suffered an illness earlier this season that had sapped a lot of his energy. His play suffered. He was benched. He was made a healthy scratch. As the pressure ratcheted up, the trade rumors and chatter amplified.
Johansen said Wednesday that he isn't looking back. He is looking forward to skating with his new Nashville teammates.
“This is a very good hockey club over in Nashville, which myself, and the rest of this League have always been aware of,… Johansen said via conference call. “There's a huge opportunity for me to take the next step in my career and hopefully build a championship team over in Nashville.…
While Poile is looking forward to seeing what Johansen will bring to the club, he also admitted that it wasn’t easy to send a player like Jones elsewhere. In order to land a trophy whale one must fish with expensive, tasty bait. On Wednesday, Poiled casted out his line and reeled in a monster.
“Seth is always going to be one of my favorite players,… Poile said. “He conducts himself so well, his maturity is way beyond his years, and we saw that in how he plays. We saw that when he first came here; how he treats everybody, how he plays, how he reacts - you can’t say enough good things about Seth as the potential of where he’s going as a player and where he is as a person already.…
Poile said that he and Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen were both steadfast in their desire of what each wanted and that the deal eventually came together.
Poile did his homework on the Johansen saga in Columbus. He's hoping that "Joey" is Tyler Seguin Version 2.0. The Boston Bruins are now kicking themselves for trading a then brash 21 year old Seguin to the Dallas Stars.
“We’ve done a lot of research on the situation,… Poile said. “There’s a lot of things that happened in the offseason with Ryan, and I am very comfortable that a change of scenery is probably the right thing for him right now. We’ve just got to get him into our system, our culture, under our coaches; we’ve got great leadership on our hockey club.
“I believe that [a location change] certainly is going to happen here with Ryan Johansen.…
Johansen knows that all eyes will be on him now that he is the #1 center of attention.
“I know the expectations I have for my game,… Johansen said. “If I'm meeting those, I think the fans in Nashville will be happy with my play. It's my job to go out there and play to my abilities and do what I can do. I'm going to come in with a fresh start and a new team and try to do my thing.
“I want to get that jersey on as soon as possible and start the new chapter and go have some fun.…
Columbus GM Jarmo Kekelainen
"Joey's been very good for us. Maybe this hasn’t been his best year, but it hasn’t been a good year for too many guys."
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"It’s one of those things where you could see a fit and a need for both teams. I've been trying to add D for two years."
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"We thought defense was our biggest need. This solves that. With Murray and Jones, Savard and Jack Johnson, Werenski on the way, we're going to be really, really good back there for years to come. That's exciting."
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Will Kekelainen oblige the trade request of forward prospect Kerby Rychel?
I'm hearing that now that Johansen has been traded for Jones that Jarmo will turn his attention to achieving maximum trade value for Rychel.
If Rychel can't get max trade value now for Rychel, he will wait until the NHL Draft in Buffalo in June.
Speaking of Buffalo, I've been told that Sabres GM Tim Murray is very interested in making a trade for Rychel.
Rychel, a physical left winger (6'2" 200 lbs.) was selected 19th overall by the Blue Jackets at the 2013 draft. This kid can do it all. He'll score, drop opponents with punishing hits, make the safe pass, win wall battles, screen the goalie and drop the mitts when he has to defend his teammates.
The disappointing Blue Jax have played Rychel in only 11 games this season. He has collected three assists.
Rychel had two assists in Lake Erie's 4-0 win on Tuesday night giving him 20 points in 21 games (5Gs, 15As). The kid needs an NHL break.
Rychel's father, former NHLer and OHL Windsor VP/GM Warren Rychel, reportedly met with Columbus management during training camp to get a better understanding of how his son would be used this season. The Rychels obviously are not satisfied nor happy with the 21 year old wasting away in the AHL where he is leading the Lake Erie Monsters in many offensive categories. In 20 games for the Monsters this season, the power forward has scored five goals and has 18 points. Last season he scored 12 goals and 33 points in 51 games.
Rychel is buried under a thick blanket of organizational depth right now as the Blue Jax have traded for and have been stock-piling left wing draft choices for the past few seasons and their organizational LW depth chart is an impressive collection of players including: Matt Calvert, Boone Jenner, Scott Hartnell, Gregory Campbell, and Team USA rock star Sonny Milano.
Rychel also plays right wing, which makes him a very tradable player due to his versatility, however in CBUS he would have to compete for a full time RW gig with Brandon Saad, Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Oliver Bjorkstrand and David Clarkson, whose gargantuan contract is too huge to bury in AHL Lake Erie.
Rychel is locked in depth chart jail in Columbus and his only hope of playing NHL hockey this season or next is to be traded to a team that values his unique bundle of assets.
The Blue Jax are the 30th place team in the NHL and the hiring of John Tortarella appears to have only hurt Columbus rather than help them.
I've seen Columbus' video and their pro scouts at Buffalo Sabres games in recent weeks. There is no secret that Tim Murray covets Rychel's size, speed, strength, pugnacity and scoring touch. Murray has a soft spot in his hockey heart for players like Rychel who can play the heavy game and are a pain in the ass to play against.
Imagine a Buffalo power trio of Rychel-Eichel-Girgensons.
It may well happen in the near future.
The 29th place Sabres are struggling to score goals on a consistent basis. They are experts in creating chances, however, they cannot finish at the net. Murray isn't ready just yet to fly the white flag and pronounce a tanking call to arms. The Sabres feel like they are better than their cellar-dwelling fate finds them in right now. A timely trade for a bomber like Rychel could light the spark that lights the wick on a piece of offensive dynamite that the Sabres are craving. Rychel is too good to be playing in the AHL. He needs a full time NHL job and STAT. There was talk at the 2013 NHL Draft that Murray was very high n selecting Rychel with their 17th overall pick, however, the Sens opted for center Curtis Lazar instead at #17. Buffalo selected Nikita Zadorov at #15. San Jose selected Mirco Mueller at #18 and Detroit took Anthony Mantha at #20.
At what cost Rychel to Buffalo?
The Blue Jackets need defense in a bad way. John Tortarella loves big, athletic D-men who block shots and clear the crease. Mike Weber and/or Cody Franson would add immediate value to the Columbus D corps.
The Sabres also have center/winger Tyler Ennis who when healthy can pump in 20 goals. Ennis is dinged for the next week or so. He is currently listed as week to week. Trading a number one center in Johansen woul dmean that the Jax would have to replace that position with a 20+ goal centerman like Ennis.
Kekelainen spent a lot of time scouting the Erie Otters in person last season where he would have seen scoring right winger Nick Baptiste up close and personal.
Which other NHL teams will be interested in Rychel?
San Jose assistant coach Bob Boughner coached Rychel while at the Windsor Spits together. There's a natural connection in NoCal for Rychel.
Colorado may have an inside track to Rychel as their GM Joe Sakic and head coach Patrick Roy were long time Avalanche team mates of Kerby's father, Warren. However, Roy and Sakic are being very aggressive about wanting to reunite Nathan MacKinnon with his Halifax line mate and partner in crime Jonathon Drouin. Roy was terrorized by the MacKinnon-Drouin duo when he was the head coach and GM of the Quebec Remparts. The Avs may move heaven and earth to land Drouin which would leave Rychel to Buffalo and the other suitors.
Given my druthers, I would rather trade for Rychel than Drouin because he plays the inside game and doesn't live on the perimeter. Rychel loves to dish out punishment and isn't adverse to receiving it as he lowers his broad shoulders like an NFL full back and bullies his way to the blue ice. The kid is fearless. He is big, strong and nasty and knows how to finish at the net, where 90% of the goals in today's NHL are scored.
Drouin is a sharp shooting, sneaky forward who has a ton of talent He will thrive when he adds more strength to his 6'0" 188 lb. frame. I see Drouin as more of an NHL passer than a scorer at this juncture of his NHL career. He will score his NHL goals in time.
Rychel is ready to score in the NHL right damn now.
The Sabres announced Monday afternoon that energy forward Nic Deslauriers will be lost for the next 3-5 weeks with a foot injury.
Now would be a great time for Tim Murray to trade for Rychel and play him in the top six. Tim Schaller was recalled to fill in for Deslauriers for the time being.
Kekelainen needs a number one scoring center to replace Johansen. Right now, third line grinder Brandon Dubinsky is the #1 pivot in CBUS.
Tim Murray may be willing to trade center/winger Tyler Ennis for Rychel. Ennis has played top line center in his career in Buffalo. He can score 20+ goals and is a deft play maker who works at high speed.
Ennis currently is week to week with an upper body injury.
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Speaking of speedy forwards, I'm hearing that the Montreal Canadiens are putting the 1-3-1 trap on making a trade for disgruntled Tampa Lighting winger Jonathon Drouin.
What's the cost for trading for Drouin?
Seth Jones was a 4th overall pick in 2013. He was selected one pick after Droiun. Tampa GM Stev Yzerman is said to be looking for a right shot, top four D-man. He is also looking for a winger prospect.
The Colorado Avalance are also hot on Drouin.
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