Fantasy Hockey Impact: Ryan Johansen lands in Colorado

Undoubtedly, Ryan Johansen’s fantasy stock is set to receive a big-time boost from the move to the Colorado Avalanche.

All things considered, it was a pretty shrewd piece of business by Chris MacFarland and company. There’s nothing like a modern-day salary dump —that’s for sure. They just hit differently. Good for Barry Trotz.

Even though it’s very early in the offseason, it’s reasonable to suggest that Johansen projects to be Colorado’s No. 2 centre in 2023-24 behind Nathan MacKinnon. On paper, it seems like a really good fit, too. At the very least, it’s easy to see why Colorado elected to go ahead and make this move.

Since Nazem Kadri left in free agency last summer for Calgary, the Avalanche have effectively been looking for his replacement. Yes, taking on Johansen – even at 50 per cent – comes with some risk, but in this instance, the juice is well worth the squeeze. He has tons left in the tank, and if he plays up to his potential, this could prove to be a home run trade.

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By his standards, the 30-year-old’s coming off a disappointing campaign for the offensively challenged Predators tallying just 12 goals and 28 points in 55 total outings. That said, Johansen has cracked the 60-point plateau on five different occasions in his career, so there’s no question he’s fully capable of handling this type of role with his new team.

In terms of deployment, obviously it is way too early to tell —one way or another. Nevertheless, it would make a lot of sense to see him skate five-on-five with the likes of Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin. Over and above that, he could see plenty of prolific attachment to the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar on Colorado’s No. 1 power play unit.

Moral of the story: 1) Ryan Johansen should be very happy with the move to Denver, and 2) fantasy owners should definitely take note.