Nashville Predators centre Ryan Johansen has not been happy with how he has played since signing an eight-year, $64 million contract on July 28, 2017.

In 68 games this season, Johansen has 14 goals and 36 points as the Predators sit in the second wild card spot in the Western Conference tied with Vancouver.

"With my role on this team and the standard I hold myself to, I need to outperform No. 1 centers on a night-by-night basis," Johansen told The Athletic on Monday. "I need to show my teammates every night, 'Hey, I've got this guy.' I've got to be one of our horses every night. And when that's not happening, it's frustrating.

"I'll be honest, it has chewed me up this year. This is an experience I haven't had since I was a young player, and it ate me up. You've got teammates counting on you, you've got this big contract, and you're just trying to find it."

Drafted fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2010 NHL Draft, Johansen was acquired by the Predators in exchange for defenceman Seth Jones on Jan. 6, 2016.

Johansen scored a career-high 33 goals with Columbus in 2013-14 but has averaged just 14.25 goals with Nashville. He had career-highs in 2018-19 in assists (50) and points (64).

Since Jan. 29, Johansen has only three goals and is without a multi-point game. After John Hynes replaced Peter Laviolette behind the bench on Jan.7, his ice time has declined from 17:56 per game to 15:43.

"He's got to play better," Predators general manager David Poile said. "He's got to find a way to be more impactful. He's got to produce more. I expect more and he expects more from himself."