Ryan Johansen has announced he is retiring from the NHL and professional hockey at the age of 33. Drafted in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Johansen would go on to play over 900 games in the NHL, scoring 202 goals, 376 assists, and 578 points.
Johansen’s last season in the NHL was with the Colorado Avalanche in 2023-24, where, in 63 games, he scored 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points, six of which were power-play points, while averaging over 13 minutes of ice time per game.
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His time with the Avalanche was not one to remember much fondly, as the team desperately needed a second-line center after Nazem Kadri left for the Calgary Flames, and J.T. Compher left as well.
He just came off a down season, scoring 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 55 games with the Nashville Predators, a significant drop from his 2021-22 season, when he scored 26 goals and 37 assists for 63 points.
A change in scenery was supposed to do good for Johansen, joining an Avalanche team coming off a Stanley Cup, despite losing some players to free agency and only having to move off Alex Galchenyuk in exchange. However, it did come with his hefty $8 million cap hit, but if he could bounce back more offensively and remain strong defensively, it could fill a massive hole as the cap could continue to rise, and the team could focus on other areas to improve.
Though his time with the Avalanche wouldn’t last long, as he was traded mid-way through the season to the Philadelphia Flyers in a package that saw Sean Walker and a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Avalanche in exchange for Johansen and a 2025 first-round pick.
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It was a cap dump the Avalanche had to make; the production wasn’t there, and his defensive game couldn’t keep up with the cap hit he brought along, though getting Sean Walker was a great addition.
It got messy for Johansen with the Flyers as they tried to move him down to the AHL. After a “material breach,” the Flyers opted to terminate his contract, but that only opened up a whole can of worms among him, the NHLPA, and the organization for trying to get his contract off the books.
Report: Ryan Johansen Flyers Saga Ends with Philadelphia Victory
