Since your blogger is AOL I will share my post from the Blackhawk board:
I agree that .Jones is a handsome price to pay for Johansen, but I thoroughly understand why each GM takes the deal. In Nashville they have a team that is full of vets and there thinking is both short and long term...after making the playoffs in the last half dozen nothing has come from it. There is no potential big man centre / scorer. Forsberg is more a wing and he is talented but not capable of dominant play; interesting how the Hawks win on fast push, but all 12 are "cylinders" in the push, and although they have high end scorers they need balance and let's not fool ourselves Anisimov is not a great centre; just a terrifc all around center who just does all the things, and fits with the wingers, so you accept Artem's averages in the dot and the fact he isn't a 30 goal guy.
I never felt Johansen should be gifted a giant contract same as Saad. Johansen has a really good release/hard shot and is a big body and a goal scoring centre. But he wasn't a one man show of dominate, more he was terrific in most cases after everybody else on the ice helped the play. Remember in the Boston final win how Toews went around Chara and scored? Or Kane's daily game reads and passes that set up tremendous chances for linemates and dee-men? Johansen isn't that YET...he may wake up and fill the skates of a first line centre for a playoff bound Nashville with that chorus of good players but they are not going give Johansen a pass from not playing both ends, conditioning, loafing or bone-headedness.
And remember the Preds are probably NOT gonna open the purse and pay a fat re-up deal if he doesn't show MORE production and that he is an all in fit with their bunch.
It is very correct to assume that Columbus might just have solved long term need for a defender who MAY be there a decade.
But don't forget he also is going to want a big fat Evander Kane type contract that Johansen signed short term again, based more on potential to be the name and be the big dominant all around fit for a decade.
Jones is pretty solid but still in training and only scratching the surface of his abilities, because I personally believe he has the potential to be a very special player in the league.
But Nashville still has a solid five including the recently re-upped Mattias Ekhorn, and in the salary Cap-era the luxury of a Josi, Weber is only possible when you get your "Harlmarrson" to be reasonable.
Maybe Jones re-sign was seen as one that has a domino effect, and would force a pushing out of one of the others and it is clear Josi & Weber are plug n play RIGHT NOW, not guys you sacrifice for the big centre potential of a Johansen.
So I undertand the trade, was surprised by the guts both teams had to take the step, and maybe the winner of the trade is determined in 7 years, but I think there are few chances to get a big fluid defender even over a big goal scoring centre. Winner, in my humble opinion: Columbus.

So I undertand the trade, was surprised by the guts both teams had to take the step, and maybe the winner of the trade is determined in 7 years, but I think there are few chances to get a big fluid defender even over a big goal scoring centre. Winner, in my humble opinion: Columbus.
- wiz1901

Great synopsis of the trade. I believe it will be determined who won the trade at a later time, but I think it will be more like 2-4 yrs. Either way, no guts-no glory. Gotta give a little to get a little. Poile needed to make a significant change and did just that. Poile has been somewhat feckless in the past in addressing actual needs of the team. I gained more respect for him by getting this trade done.