BLOCKBUSTER! Ryan Johansen for Seth Jones

Dobber

2016-01-06

Fantasy Impact: Columbus Blue Jackets trade Ryan Johansen to Nashville for defenseman Seth Jones

The Jackets get: one of the top defensemen 21-and-under in the world. Regardless of the lackluster start to his season and arguably his career, Jones still has elite upside and at the very least should still become a star defenseman.

 

The Predators get: a true No.1 center. And as fans in (insert one of 10 city names here) know, No.1 centermen do not grow on trees. They paid the price to get one.

 

Players Impacted: Johansen gets out from under John Tortorella. So, assuming Tortorella is fired in two years, Johansen can enjoy great production for the next two years that he wouldn't otherwise have enjoyed. Long-term, Johansen was always going to be a 70- to 80-point guy, so that remains the same. But for this year and next, this move really helps him.

This deal also helps Seth Jones, as he immediately becomes the No.2 guy in Columbus. And if Torts takes a liking to him, he'll become the No.1 guy there in an awful hurry. His ice time hovers around 19-20 minutes. Now? Think 25. Maybe not immediately, but it will move up to those levels pretty quickly if Torts likes what he sees. He'll get an instant shot on the top power play and he'll probably get several weeks there to get comfortable. Only way he loses the gig is if he doesn't get it done after several weeks.

Right now if you look at the Columbus power play time and how it's divied up among defensemen (report is here), it's mainly going to David Savard, Ryan Murray and Jack Johnson pretty evenly. Kevin Connauton sees secondary time. So right off the hop, Connauton is probably out of the mix completely. Since Jones shoots right, he pushes Savard out (Savard also shoots right). The top pairing will be Jones and either Johnson or Murray. Both will be tried and whoever brings success gets to keep his job there. My money is on Johnson.

But that comes at a price. Now the Blue Jackets are without a top center. Brandon Saad, Boone Jenner, Nick Foligno and Scott Hartnell lose the center they produce the best with. Mainly Saad and Jenner has been on his line this season, but all four have been there at times. The load will be shouldered by Brandon Dubinsky and Alexander Wennberg. The youngster Wennberg is intriguing as he has already shown that he can produce at this level. So better linemates and more ice time can only help, right? He's on pace for 36 points, but I would cautiously tweak that to 45 now. William Karlsson also moves up a peg on the depth chart. He's a much better player than the 12-point guy we've seen so far this season. Maybe now he can become a point-every-two-games player.

As for Nashville, well now they have that No.1 center, which pushes Mike Ribeiro to the second line and Mike Fisher to the third line. Calle Jarnkrok will have to become a winger, which doesn't bode well for his already low ice time.

 

 

Fantasy Players this helps, in order:

1. Jones (profile here)

2. Johansen (profile here)

3. Forsberg (profile here)

4. Johnson (profile here

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5. Neal (profile here)

6. Wennberg (profile here)

7. Smith (profile here)

 

Fantasy Players this hurts, in order

1. Ribeiro (profile here)

2. Savard (profile here)

3. Connauton (profile here)

4. Fisher (profile here)

5. Jarnkrok (profile here)

6. Jenner (profile here)

7. Foligno (profile here)

 

 

6 Comments

  1. krisco 2016-01-06 at 19:48

    What about Ekholm, won't he likely pick up Jones' PP time now?

  2. Evens 2016-01-06 at 21:04

    This helps Rinne owners as well, myself being one. I’m pretty happy with the move!

    • Vincent Mascarello 2016-01-06 at 22:24

      Not a slam dunk that it helps Rinne but its possible.  Wouldnt be so certain, though.

  3. Pengwin7 2016-01-07 at 08:10

    It will be interesting to see what CBJ's new centers shake out to be.  Boone Jenner was once considered the hardest-working/best face-off man in the OHL… but Nick Foligno got time at center this year in absence of Ry-Jo.  Stay tuned!

    • Dobber Sports 2016-01-07 at 10:45

      I forgot he was originally a center, good call!

  4. Tyler Thompson 2016-01-08 at 17:18

    I dont see this deal hurting Jenner at all. In fact he has 3 goals and 4 points with RyJo out of the lineup. I think this deal helps Jenner as it will increase his TOI, no?

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