He didn’t know it at the time, but the trade that sent Ryan Johansen to Nashville in January of 2016 would come to be the best thing that ever happened to him.
The former Predators centerman made that proclamation when he joined the latest episode of the Preds Official Podcast to discuss, among other items, the conclusion of his time as a professional hockey player.
And what a run it was.
Johansen’s retirement was made official on Thursday shortly after the podcast was released and the NHL posted an announcement to mark the end of a 13-year career in the League. Over that span, the Vancouver native recorded 578 points in 905 regular-season games, with 533 of those contests spent with the Preds.
The 33-year-old Johansen, who is now residing in Nashville once more with his wife and his baby boy, Hank, couldn’t say enough about his time with the Predators and how grateful he was to play in Smashville over the course of eight seasons.
“It was the best thing that really ever happened to me in my life, getting traded to Nashville - and that's not an exaggeration,” Johansen said. “Nashville is where I want to be, where we want to raise our family. I love everything about it, and I'm just so thankful and grateful and blessed, and all those words about being able to have a chunk of my career here, and the memories go on forever. We had so much fun. We had such a great hockey team for a bunch of years, and it was the coolest time of my life being a Pred.”
Johansen also appeared in 61 playoff games for Nashville and played a key role in their run in the spring of 2017 before he was injured in the Western Conference Final against Anaheim. Despite that, he became the team’s biggest cheerleader as the Preds made it to Game Six of the Stanley Cup Final.
Known for his playmaking ability at the center ice position, Johansen ranks sixth all-time in Predators franchise history in both assists (252) and points (362), and he holds the ninth spot in goals with 110. Johansen is also second in all-time playoff goals (17), assists (31) and points (48) with the Preds.
With a big personality and an even bigger heart, Johansen quickly became one of the most popular Preds players of all-time, and as evidenced by the outpouring of support on social media with his retirement announcement, that’s still very much the case.
The Predators will honor Johansen at Bridgestone Arena when they host the Montreal Canadiens on March 28, and after years of the Smashville faithful showing him love, he can’t wait to return the favor.
“I need to thank the fans, because I can't wait to be back in the arena,” Johansen said. “Just the people in Nashville and the support we had as a team, more than just the games and being in the arena, just being in the community and being a part of living here, they’re the best people in the world. They're the best fans in the world, and it's just the best memories of my life wearing the Preds uniform.”
