TomasHertlsRooster
Don’t say eye test when you mean points
Except it isn't as simple as that. When they acquired Johansen he was in the middle of a disappointing season for multiple reasons, but he was coming off of a 26 goal/71 point season and, despite his seemingly being in a slump at the time of a deal, Poile still had to give up a kid who had been drafted 4th overall, had been projected to go 1st overall up until the draft, and looked good as an 18 year old playing defense in the NHL. That's a steep price, and it was a huge trade. You can't just say "If they make a move for yet another center, it had better be a bonafide #1 guy" when 1) Johansen was certainly considered one of those guys at the time, and 2) players who are/were "more bonafide," so to speak, don't come available all too often.
For what it's worth, I'm fine with Johansen as the top center. I do hope he picks it up offensively this coming year, but he has shown he can be a beast when it matters the most.
Johansen really wasn’t at that level at the time. Yeah, he was roughly a 70 point player when they got him; the average Stanley Cup winning center over the past 10 years is either a 70 point scorer who wins Selkes or is a 90 point scorer. And now he’s roughly a 60 point player.
You might be fine with Johansen, but the results speak for themselves (failure), and teams with centers like Johansen (or Couture) tend to always end up losing in the playoffs to teams with the guys who are a notch or two above. Let’s hope as fans of teams with those mediocre #1Cs and stacked defenses that our boys can buck that trend this year on behalf of the NHL.