‘I love the team here’: Johnny Gaudreau focused on positives in Columbus
Johnny Gaudreau was confused, if not amused. It was Saturday night in Long Island, and every time the Blue Jackets winger touched the puck, Islanders fans at UBS Arena booed him.
“I was talking to my coach after the third shift, and I was like, ‘I don’t get it,'” Gaudreau said. “I didn’t talk to [the Islanders] once throughout the whole free agency.”
Such is life for Gaudreau. It’s been four months since the 29-year-old signed a seven-year, $68.2 million deal with Columbus — turning down the Calgary Flames, his team for the previous nine years, and several other organizations, whether their interest was real or perceived.
And the hockey world is still obsessed with it.
It’s in part because the Gaudreau-Columbus marriage seemingly came out of nowhere. The other part? It’s rare to see moves like this in the NHL.
“It’s nice to hear a fan base wanted you and didn’t get you, but I didn’t expect to hear things for this long,” Gaudreau said. “A lot of players in my position end up re-signing with their teams. [Filip] Forsberg [in Nashville], [Nathan] MacKinnon in Colorado. I went in a different direction.”
The spotlight is likely back tonight when the Blue Jackets face the Flyers (7:30 pm, ESPN+/Hulu), another team Gaudreau was linked to.
Columbus (4-9-1) has stumbled out of the gate, hampered by a brutal series of injuries. But Gaudreau — who has 12 points in his first 14 games, including all six of his goals at home — focuses on positivity.
Choosing Columbus was inherently about what was best for Gaudreau the person. And even if his tone has shifted a bit one month into the season — settling into the team’s current reality — his free agency decision was always a long play.
“I’m here for the long run,” Gaudreau said. “I obviously want to make the playoffs this year but if it doesn’t happen yet, you have to learn from those things. I’m not putting it past our team to get out of this funk, but I also know whatever happens, we have a lot to look forward to.”
AT THE PRESEASON player media tour, Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski gushed about the vibes shifting in Columbus. It wasn’t just Gaudreau who chose Columbus. Patrik Laine also committed to a four-year extension.
Werenski noted that for years the Blue Jackets were known as a defensive team, but now had several skill players that would change the identity. And after being stuck with the narrative as a place guys didn’t want to stay, the opposite was happening.
“Our identity is changing,” Werenski said. “And I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
But after Laine missed two weeks with an elbow sprain – returning just in time for the teams’ trip to his native Finland – the winger sprained his ankle against the Islanders and is sidelined another three to four weeks.
Laine and Gaudreau are supposed to team up on Columbus’ top line. Gaudreau said by the end of preseason, he and Laine “were really starting to understand each other” as they figured out details in their game, like anticipating when Laine wanted the pass. They were just starting to get going again after Laine’s setback, “which has been tough,” Gaudreau said.
The prognosis was worse for Werenski; the team’s top defenseman is expected to be out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury he sustained last week. “I felt more bad for [Werenski] than anything, because he was super excited about this season,” Gaudreau said. “It just sucks. He’s such a leader on this team.”
The Blue Jackets also lost their No. 2 defenseman Nick Blankenburg (broken ankle, six-to-eight weeks) in the same game. Coupled with long term injuries to veterans Sean Kuraly and winger Jakub Voracek, and it’s frankly been a nightmare scenario.
Gaudreau said he has no choice but to focus on the positives — and the biggest positive is that younger players will get important reps. “The young guys with skill on this team are so impressive,” he said. “Cole Sillinger, Kent Johnson and Yegor Chinakhov. It’s fun to hang out with them and play with them every day at practice.”
In Calgary, Gaudreau was middle of the pack when it came to experience. In Columbus, he’s the fourth-oldest player on the team. And he feels a responsibility to speak up more, paying forward the mentorship moments he benefited from early in his career.
As for an assessment on his own game? “My defensive game has gotten better;” he said. “Maybe I was slacking a little bit to start the season, but I feel good about how it’s going.”
Gaudreau falls back on the message that he received from coach Brad Larsen before the season: “He told me, ‘I want you to do the same exact thing you did in Calgary, be the same player. Remember, you’re just one player. You can’t carry a team by yourself.'”
IT WASN’T UNTIL three or four weeks ago that Gaudreau said he finally felt settled in Columbus. He described the move as “hectic.” Then in October, he and his wife, Meredith, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Noa.
He’s already feeling the lifestyle changes of fatherhood. Less time hunting, one of his favorite activities to get his mind away from the rink. Less time playing video games with buddies. And a lot less sleep.
It’s all been eased by the move East — the crucial factor in his decision. Travel in the Eastern Conference has been significantly less burdensome. “Plane rides are a lot shorter. And besides the Finland trip, I think I’ve only spent 5-6 nights in a hotel,” he said. “So it’s a lot more time at home, and less on the road. And we’re also close to family now. My parents can now come out for a random Sunday night game, which wasn’t possible before.”
Gaudreau says he’s recognized less in Columbus than he was in Calgary, but the interactions feel more meaningful.
“People come up to me and say, ‘thanks for choosing Columbus, thanks for believing in us, it means so much to us'” Gaudreau said. “And that means a lot to me.”
Because the process to find his new home wasn’t easy.
“Honestly if I had to do free agency again, I don’t know if I would’ve done it,” he said. “The fan base in the city you’re in wants you back, that’s hard on you as well. It was a pretty rough two-to three months there.”
He knows that people will always talk, but there was one narrative that didn’t sit well.
“People thought I was trying to chase money but that’s the farthest from the truth,” he said. “It was about what was best for me and my family and my wife and her family. I love the city here in Columbus, I love the team here, I’m really excited to be here. Even if it wasn’t the start we wanted, I wouldn’t change my decision for the world.”
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Ryan S. Clark
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Kristen Shilton
There’s an ancient South Florida proverb about numbers: Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four.
Opening the Eastern Conference finals with five goals in Game 1 on Tuesday showed that at least for one game the Florida Panthers could find a breakthrough against the Carolina Hurricanes. Only for Thursday to arrive and the Panthers to once again post five more goals in a 5-0 win to take a 2-0 series lead before heading back to Sunrise for Game 3.
How did both teams perform? Who are the players to watch next game, and what are the big questions facing the Hurricanes and Panthers ahead of Game 3 on Saturday?
Say what you will about the offside goal being akin to Charlie Brown getting the football pulled out from under him by Lucy. While it’s possible that the disallowed goal could have provided momentum, there were other things that suggested the Hurricanes were going to struggle.
Under Rod Brind’Amour, they’ve become one of the teams that consistently generates the highest number of shots per game. They entered Game 2 averaging 33.2 shots per game, yet they hadn’t even cracked double digits until there was 14 minutes remaining in the third period. Natural Stat Trick’s metrics showed they had two high-danger scoring chances midway through the third period, and after giving up seven goals throughout the entirety of the second round, they’ve allowed 10 goals in the first two games.
Or view it this way: The Panthers had more goals than the Hurricanes had high-danger scoring chances. — Clark
What more is there to say about Florida, really? The term “clinic” doesn’t seem to cover it. The Panthers have done it all against Carolina in these first two games.
Thursday was another dominant performance by the reigning Stanley Cup champions in an offensive and defensive effort that requires no notes. The Panthers set a tone early with Gustav Forsling‘s goal just 1:17 into the game and never relented. The Hurricanes were averaging over 33 shots per night in the postseason (second most among playoff teams), and Florida limited their chances to seven shots through the first two periods alone — while the Panthers pummeled Carolina with 16 shots and four goals in the same span. It was enough to chase Frederik Andersen from the net, when he was replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov with a four-goal deficit.
The Hurricanes’ top scorers were simply no match for Florida’s attack or a locked-in Sergei Bobrovsky, who, while not heavily challenged, was a match for all comers in a 16-save shutout. The way Florida is playing right now, one has to wonder how the Hurricanes can get back in this series as the teams shift down to Florida. — Shilton
Three Stars of Game 2
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Panthers go up 3-0 on Sam Bennett’s power-play goal
The Panthers threaten to run away with it after Sam Bennett’s power-play goal makes it 3-0 in the first period.
He had two goals and a helper, as the Panthers dominated the Hurricanes in Game 2. This is Bennett’s second career 3-plus point playoff game and second career multigoal playoff game.
2. Team defense
The Hurricanes were averaging 33.2 shots per game this postseason, second in the playoffs to the Colorado Avalanche. But the Panthers, with their efficient and suffocating defense, held Carolina to five shots in the first 30 minutes of the game. Near the end of the second period, the fans at Lenovo Center were growing tired of it and started chanting “shoot the puck” at their team. Carolina did have more shot volume in the third period, ending with 17, but nothing got past Sergei Bobrovsky.
3. Offside reviews and coaching tactics
Normally, I’m not the biggest fan of lengthy offside reviews. I wish there was a timer — if you can’t make the call in 90 seconds, then the call on the ice stands. But the Florida Panthers executed one to perfection in Game 2. Up 3-0 in the second period, the Hurricanes scored, but thinking the play was offside, the Panthers called a timeout to buy more time to see every angle available, eventually calling for the challenge. It was indeed determined to be offside and the goal was taken away. — Arda Öcal
Players to watch in Game 3
Let’s start here with the Hurricanes. There’s no shortage of options. Part of the reason Svechnikov is in this space is because he leads the Hurricanes in goals this postseason. The rest of it has more to do with whether the Canes can rely on a certain postseason pattern for Svechnikov holding true. After going goalless in Games 2 and 3 against the New Jersey Devils in the first round, he responded with a hat trick. He didn’t score in the first two games against the Washington Capitals only to then score a goal in three straight games. Could Svechnikov respond by grabbing at least one goal in Game 3? Or are the Canes in store for more offensive struggles once they arrive in Sunrise? — Clark
The Panthers’ instigator had been quiet since Florida’s first-round series win over Tampa Bay, recording just five assists in eight games heading into Game 2 against Carolina. But Tkachuk looked more like himself Thursday, agitating the Hurricanes and making his physical presence felt. He also emerged early on the score sheet, registering an assist on Gustav Forsling’s game-opening salvo and adding a goal — Tkachuk’s first in 10 games — in the opening period to extend Florida’s lead to 2-0. It was a testament to how commanding Tkachuk’s line was with Sam Bennett (two goals and an assist) and Carter Verhaeghe (three assists) that he was able to finally appear as the Tkachuk of old. If this was indeed Tkachuk’s reawakening after a slow stretch, then the Hurricanes better be well aware of Tkachuk going forward because he was as dangerous as ever at both ends of the ice in Game 2. — Shilton
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Matthew Tkachuk taps it in to pad the Panthers’ lead
Matthew Tkachuk sneaks the puck past the goalie to pad the Panthers’ lead against the Hurricanes.
Big questions for Game 3
What’s the response to their worst playoff loss this year?
Several questions will be asked when it comes to what adjustments can be made before Game 3. Could one of them be about what the Hurricanes must do to get off to a stronger start? Allowing two first-period goals in Game 1 already presented the reality that the Panthers were going to remain aggressive. But to then give up the first goal less than two minutes into the first before giving up three in total in an opening frame that saw the Panthers record just five shots on net? That only adds to the degree of difficulty for a team that has now lost two straight playoff games after losing two postseason games in total over the first two rounds, especially when the last time the Hurricanes were down 0-2 to the Panthers in a playoff series was during the 2023 Eastern Conference finals in which they were swept. — Clark
Will Sam Reinhart be back at full strength for the Panthers?
Florida saw one of its top skaters exit in the first period after Sebastian Aho delivered a hit that forced Reinhart out for the remainder of the game with a lower-body injury. While Florida had Game 2 well in hand even before Reinhart became unavailable, it’s safe to say the Panthers are a better team when he’s in the lineup. Reinhart’s status going forward is significant for Florida overall. Reinhart paced the Panthers with 39 goals and 81 points in the regular season and notched 11 points in 13 postseason tilts going into Game 2. Florida must hope that Reinhart isn’t just available for Game 3 (and beyond), but that he’s not too banged up to continue operating at a high level. — Shilton
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