Port Moody’s Ryan Johansen has soothed the disappointment of not being able to play in the Stanley Cup finals for the Nashville Predators by signing an eight-year contract with the team that will pay him $64 million.
Johansen, who turned 25 on Monday, was tied for the Predators’ team scoring lead last season with 61 points. He added another 13 points in 14 playoff games until a serious thigh injury during the Western Conference final sidelined him for the rest of the playoffs. The injury required emergency surgery to treat acute compartment syndrome.
Johansen, a restricted free agent before he signed his new deal, said in a team press release there’s no place he’d rather be than Nashville.
“This is where I belong. There’s no better place to play in the NHL right now than Nashville.”
The Predators acquired Johansen in January, 2016, in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets after the product of Port Moody’s minor hockey system had fallen out of favour with his new head coach, John Tortorella.
Predators’ general manager David Poile said the acquisition of Johansen was “a turning point in our franchise.
"I really feel in these next eight years, we’re going to do really well, and when we do really well, Ryan Johansen’s going to be a big, big factor in all of our winning.”
Johansen said he’s fully recovered from his injury and he was working on conditioning with the Predators’ strength coach.
