Avalanche acquire Johansen from Predators for rights to Galchenyuk

The Colorado Avalanche acquired forward Ryan Johansen from the Nashville Predators for pending unrestricted free agent forward Alex Galchenyuk, the teams announced Saturday.

Nashville is retaining 50% of Johansen's $8-million cap hit. He has two years remaining on his contract.

Johansen accrued 12 goals and 28 points in 55 games last season. He didn't play after being cut on the leg by a skate Feb. 21. The 30-year-old is one campaign removed from scoring 26 goals and 63 points.

"Ryan is a talented, veteran center who helps our top six," Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement. "He gives us size in the middle of the ice and brings leadership and experience to our roster. We look forward to adding him to our team."

Johanson is expected to slide into the Avalanche's second-line center role. Colorado lost Nazem Kadri in free agency last summer and struggled to fill the 87-point void he left. Pending unrestricted free agent J.T. Compher registered 17 goals and 52 points as Colorado's primary second-line center in 2022-23.

Galchenyuk played 11 games with the Avalanche, failing to record a point. In 42 contests with their AHL affiliate, he tallied 16 goals and 42 points.

If the Predators don't sign the 29-year-old before July 1, Nashville will lose Galchenyuk's rights and he'll become an unrestricted free agent.

Galchenyuk has now been traded six times. He's played for seven teams over the past six seasons.

Nashville is already retaining $250,000 on Mattias Ekholm's contract following his trade to the Edmonton Oilers in February. The club has one retention slot available for the next two seasons.

The Avalanche now have just under $16 million in cap space, which includes the expected LTIR designation for captain Gabriel Landeskog, per CapFriendly. The Predators have $19.5 million available entering the offseason.