Back in 2023, the Colorado Avalanche acquired Ryan Johansen from the Nashville Predators for Alex Galchenyuk. The hope was that Johansen would fill the second center spot on the roster following the departure of Nazem Kadri, who left in free agency to sign with the Calgary Flames.
At the time, Kadri priced himself out for the Avs, which was a move that had Avs Faithful quite disappointed. The Avalanche had been searching for center depth for a while, experimenting with guys such as Casey Mittelstadt, J.T. Compher, Johansen, Alex Newhook, Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle, and Ross Colton. Mittelstadt was traded after 81 games over the course of two seasons.