from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

Burnside: Was there a sense of sadness of leaving the team that drafted you?

Johansen: Definitely. The city of Columbus, the Columbus Blue Jackets will always have a special place in my heart. I have so many great memories. Friends that'll last over a lifetime that I developed over the years from playing there. I truly did love being a Blue Jacket. It was a fantastic five years of my life. Speaking for me and my family, it was just such a first-class organization and place to play. It's really unfortunate things didn't work out there because I really did believe we had a good team and we were capable of being a great team for a long time. But, you know, it's professional sports and things don't always go as planned.

Burnside: What was the adjustment like coming to a new team, especially as a skill player where the expectations were really high for you?

Johansen: There are a few people on the Predators that are from the area that I live in, and things like that, and you run into people, whether through appearances or the All-Star Game or things like that. It was great to see a few familiar faces when you walk into the arena. That for sure helped when I first arrived. At the end of the day, the puck is dropped and you just want to go out there and work your hardest and not worry about all the little X's and O's right away. That was my approach when I first arrived. I was just trying to go out there and play my game and do my best. Obviously, they didn't just flip a coin and say, "Let's trade for Johansen." They did some research into the way play I played the game and thought I could help the hockey club. And that was the main message that the coach and the GM were telling me when I arrived.

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