Adam Vingan

USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee

WASHINGTON — During the first half of the NHL season, Ryan Johansen was the subject of rampant trade speculation.

The Blue Jackets, his team at the time, were languishing at the bottom of the league standings after the worst start in franchise history, undergoing a coaching change after only seven games. Rumors enveloped the Blue Jackets, surrounding Johansen, a former top-five draft pick, in particular.

"A big thing is the leaders tell you a lot of the times it is just rumors," Johansen said of how he managed that speculation. "There's a lot of social media. There's a lot of things random people can just go say where maybe it gets, I don't know, spread a little bit more than it should, but it didn't come from anywhere.

"It's easy to look at that stuff and hear things and worry about stuff. Just going back to before I was traded, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it, but it wasn't a distraction for me. ... I was just trying to do my best on the ice, and that's all you can control, really."

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Those rumors didn't cease until a trade was actually made, as one was on Jan. 6 when Nashville acquired Johansen for defenseman Seth Jones in what was easily the biggest trade of the season. In the two months since Johansen joined the Predators, he's gradually found comfort in his new situation.

"Just kind of a bonus of the trade was getting it done in January there instead of right at the trade deadline where things are a little more hectic," Johansen said. "I was able to have some more time to adjust and get settled in with a new team and stuff and get more familiar with the guys and how they play and the systems and things like that. I think it was definitely, for any player I guess, a better situation to get there early."

In his last two seasons with the Blue Jackets, Johansen’s immense talent was at times secondary to the headaches that accompanied it.

He scored a career-high 71 points and was the MVP of the NHL All-Star Game hosted by Columbus in 2015, but he missed training camp that season while he and the Blue Jackets engaged in a contract standoff. Johansen's physical conditioning was questioned more than once, including by new Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, who benched and scratched him, creating the perception of an icy relationship between the two.

Johansen being traded seemed like an inevitable conclusion. There wasn't a sense of relief once it was official, Johansen said, but an eagerness to immediately begin the next phase of his career.

"As soon as I hopped on that plane, I just felt like I wanted to be at the rink," Johansen said. "I wanted to get there. I wanted to get on the ice with the guys, just start my new chapter, I guess. ... For me, it was kind of like a 'get to work' moment."

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Said Predators coach Peter Laviolette: "I think he was ready for a change. He fits in really well with our team. Good teammate, our guys really like him. He's been a good player on the ice. He's a good kid. He wants to do well, wants to help, wants to contribute."

Once Johansen got to Nashville, there was no uncertainty about his role. The 23-year-old immediately became the first-line center on a team that had never truly had one before, at least not one still waiting to enter the prime of his career.

Less than three minutes into his Predators debut against the Avalanche on Jan. 8, Johansen scored on his first shot, simultaneously showcasing his skill and setting expectations extremely high. Not that they already weren’t, considering Predators general manager David Poile said on the night of the trade that the franchise had been looking for a center of Johansen’s caliber “forever.”

He’s met many of those expectations, scoring 22 points in 32 games, and the Predators' 40 points in those games had them among the NHL's top 10 teams in the past two-plus months entering Saturday.

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More importantly, his arrival has properly balanced the Predators' lineup and provided the necessary depth, especially at center, to compete in the ruthless Central Division and Western Conference.

"You always want to be looked upon as a key guy and a difference-maker type player," Johansen said. "They made it very clear that I was the top-line center that they had been looking for, and for me, that's the perfect opportunity. I can go out there and just do my thing and have fun.

"You're not going to be perfect every night, but just go out and work your hardest and do all the little things that help your team win, and like I said, just go out and have fun. That's all it really is."

Reach Adam Vingan on Twitter @AdamVingan.

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