Adam Vingan

USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee

EDMONTON, Alberta — The first two-plus weeks of Ryan Johansen's new life in Nashville have been, in his words, "pretty hectic."

The Predators center has barely been in town since being traded from Columbus on Jan. 6, with the team playing five of his first seven games on the road. He has been living in former Predators defenseman Seth Jones' downtown apartment, which Jones offered to Johansen as the two corresponded in the immediate wake of the blockbuster trade, which included a chance encounter at Port Columbus International Airport that night.

Johansen intended to sublease Jones' apartment, but after that didn't work out, he and his girlfriend rented a unit in the same building right before the Predators left for their current road trip, which continues Saturday against the Oilers. He will then spend the All-Star break vacationing in the Alberta resort town of Banff.

"There's a lot of stuff to get done. ... The good thing is we've got a lot of home games in the month of February so it'll give us a chance to settle in," Johansen said.

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As for his play on the ice, Johansen's transition has been incredibly smooth. His nine points (three goals, six assists) lead the Predators since his arrival, four more points than the next closest teammate. After being held without a goal in his final 15 games for the Blue Jackets, Johansen scored on his first shot with the Predators on Jan. 8 against the Avalanche, underlining his immediate impact.

"He's a really smart player and in not a very large amount of space on the ice, he can make a lot of things happen," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's got a high threshold for panic and he's vary calm and slows things down and with that he's able to make plays."

The portion of Johansen's season in Columbus was tumultuous at best and his exit was unceremonious, but there has been no uncertainty about his importance to Nashville. Johansen has become a focal point of the Predators' offense and instantly validated the team's decision to highlight him as such.

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"I think you just look at the opportunity that I've been given," Johansen said. "They believe in me being a first-line center and I believe in myself in doing that job for this team. The opportunity with being on the first power play, on the first line and playing in all the key situations and playing with such great players, for me, I feel like we have another level to go. Yeah, we've been having some success, but I definitely think there's another level as well.

"It was pretty hectic in Columbus just with line combos and power-play units. You kind of never really knew what was going on. It's nice to just be settled in in a role right now and these first couple weeks. ... I'm really enjoying it."

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