‘What would Johnny want us to do?’ How the Blue Jackets are approaching this season
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Emily Kaplan, ESPN
WHEN SIDNEY CROSBY remembers Johnny Gaudreau, he thinks of the 2023 All-Star Game in Florida, sitting in gridlock traffic heading from their hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
“It was myself, Johnny and [Kevin Hayes] in the back of the bus,” Crosby said. “Haysey was basically running the back of the bus there. I think he talked for 40 minutes. I don’t think Johnny said anything, but he laughed for the entire 40 minutes.”
For Nathan MacKinnon, it’s one of his personal hockey highlights, scoring the overtime winner for Team North America against Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. MacKinnon still rewatches the clip on YouTube “quite a bit.”
“Johnny was the one that passed it to me,” MacKinnon said. “We became pretty tight at that tournament and had great chemistry on the ice. He was also such a great person. He was never that serious. Just an easygoing guy, gentle with a big heart.”
Jack Eichel loved being in Europe at the World Championships with Gaudreau, laughing as he struggled to read a non-English menu.
“He’d be trying to explain to the waiter or waitress that he just wanted a steak, a filet with potatoes. He didn’t want anything else on it,” Eichel said. “John was just a really pure human. He didn’t care about nice things. The things that mattered to him were his family, his friends.”
Connor McDavid’s mind goes to epic matchups in the Battles of Alberta.
“He went at everybody and had such a big heart and played hard, despite his size,” McDavid said. “I think he was an inspiration to a lot of guys that feel like they’re undersized. But he was so fun to watch too, so skilled, and so good on his edges.”
Auston Matthews thinks of the way everyone spoke about Gaudreau.
“He’s so beloved by all of his friends, his teammates, his family and the people that knew him,” Matthews said. “It’s kind of hard to just comprehend that Johnny and his brother are no longer with us.”
IT’S BEEN LESS than a month since Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their native New Jersey. The tragedy’s impact is both personal and far-reaching. The Gaudreaus value family above anything else, but they’ve shared their grief with the hockey community, which also defines itself as a family.
“Being in hockey for a long time, I think that’s one thing that we’re proud of,” Crosby said. “Our ability to rally around people and help each other in situations like this.”
That support was visible at the funeral in Pennsylvania, where hundreds of NHL players, coaches and executives showed up.
As NHL training camps opened this week, emotions were still raw, especially in Columbus. The Blue Jackets, NHL and NHLPA have stayed in touch with the Gaudreau family, monitoring their needs while also seeking input on memorial plans.
“We’re not doing anything with Johnny or Matty’s name without the family signing off on it,” GM Don Waddell said. The team will wear helmet decals all season featuring two doves; the idea for the doves came directly from pins handed out at the funeral.
Players have been reminded that free counseling is available. There are resources all around them, provided by the team, the players association and the league. But when Blue Jackets players arrived for medical testing on Wednesday, there was still an uneasiness of how exactly to go forward.
“To say we know exactly what to do, I don’t think that’s fair,” captain Boone Jenner said. “I don’t think there’s a playbook out there for this situation and what has happened. And that’s OK. I think we’re going to learn and lean on each other as we go on.”
As a guiding principle, the Blue Jackets adopted a mantra: “What would Johnny want us to do?” Columbus coach Dean Evason asked that the night before the funeral, as his leadership group was just sitting around. They decided Gaudreau would have wanted them to watch football and have a couple of beers. Gaudreau was known for his simplicity. He loved his Eagles so much, he often signed texts with “Go Birds.”
The players agreed early on that it would be a disservice to Gaudreau if they spent an entire season dwelling.
“He’d want us to enjoy coming to the rink,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “Being around our teammates and being together.”
ABOVE THE FAN entrance of Nationwide Arena, there’s a large mural of four Blue Jackets players. Featured prominently is Gaudreau, shooting the puck. That’s going to stay. Other logistical questions followed. As the staff prepared video for training camp, one of the coaches asked, is it appropriate to include Gaudreau in the clips? Should we edit him out? Evason was absolute. “Johnny is going to teach,” Evason said. “Good and bad. If he didn’t backcheck, we’ll show it. He’s going to be with us. He’s going to be a presence.”
The team is keeping Gaudreau’s locker stall intact. They will travel with his No. 13 jersey on the road. Sean Monahan, one of Gaudreau’s best friends, will get dressed next to the empty stall all season. Monahan was the Blue Jacket’s biggest free agent addition this summer, signing a five-year deal on July 1.
“We all know,” Waddell said. “The reason Sean decided to come here was because of Johnny.”
Gaudreau shocked the NHL when he chose to sign with Columbus in 2022. He was the league’s top free agent, having played his first nine years in Calgary and coming off a 115-point season. Then he signed a long-term deal in Columbus at a time not many other players would. But Gaudreau was considering where he and his wife, Meredith, wanted to start a family. Gaudreau often told people, “Columbus is just my cup of tea.”
Two years later, Monahan followed him from Calgary. At the funeral, Meredith said her husband copied everything Monahan did. Now, it was the other way around. Monahan bought a house three doors down from the Gaudreaus.
Monahan wasn’t yet ready to speak when the team held a candlelight vigil for Gaudreau earlier this month. And when training camp opened on Wednesday, he wasn’t quite ready either, but knew he wanted to say something. Wearing a shirt with a picture of Gaudreau and the No. 13, Monahan told the media: “I still don’t know the exact words to even say.”
“There’s a lot of weight on our shoulders right now,” Monahan said. “There’s a huge loss, a special person who’s not here. Like I said, it’s on my mind every day, every second. We want to obviously put our best foot forward and put our best effort out there for Johnny.”
The first on-ice session on Thursday ended with players shooting the length of the ice on an empty net. Monahan went first and made it. Hugs and stick taps followed. Monahan signed to reunite with Gaudreau, but also to be a mentor to young Blue Jackets centers like Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger — while shielding them from tougher first-line minutes. It’s a role Monahan said he’s excited to embrace.
“[Monahan] walked into a tough situation, meeting the guys for the first time after this happened,” Werenski said. “I give him a lot of credit. Obviously, we know John is a big reason why he signed here. It goes back to that point of being together. We’re there for him and I think it speeds things up a little bit, the relationships. It’s one of the worst times in his life, and he’s been awesome to be around. So that speaks volumes to what type of person he is. As a group, we’re here for him. We’re going to get through this thing together.”
MOST PLAYERS RETURNED to Columbus over the past several weeks, gathering for informal skates before training camp. Every morning, Waddell made a point to walk around the locker room. He became encouraged when he witnessed some normal conversations, laughs, even chirps.
“The guys are handling it much better than I thought they would,” Waddell said. “But we know there are going to be some tough nights throughout the year. Some dark times. And we’re going to have to get through them as a group.”
Waddell has already had to tackle uncomfortable tasks. He’s still communicating with the league and players association on how the Blue Jackets will manage the salary cap; they’re below the cap floor. Last week, Columbus signed veteran James van Riemsdyk to a one-year deal. Van Riemsdyk had other opportunities, but his reputation over 1,000-plus games in the league is as a good person and good teammate. For Columbus, this season is about making progress on the ice, but it’s also about developing the right culture.
So the team continues to try to strike the right tone. It is remembering Gaudreau, but also understanding the importance of moving forward. Evason was already preaching a clean slate before the tragedy. He was hired as coach this summer, and one of his big focuses was to let players earn their spots. He told his staff not to tell him anything about the players — their personalities, how they played last year, how they conducted themselves. Everyone is getting a fresh start on the ice.
The team postponed traditional festivities for their home opener, including player blue carpet arrivals and a fan festival, to the second game. “It just didn’t feel right,” Waddell said.
The Oct. 15 opener at Nationwide Arena will be focused on honoring the Gaudreau brothers. Everyone is prepared for another wave of emotions and know it’s another step in the grieving process.
Said Monahan: “I’ll miss him the rest of my life.”
It’s win-or-go-home Thursday in the MLB wild-card round!
After losing their series openers, the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees all rebounded with Game 2 wins on Wednesday — setting up a dramatic day with three winner-take-all Game 3s. It’s only the second time in baseball history to host three winner-takes-all playoff games in one day.
Who has the edge with division series berths on the line? We’ve got you covered with pregame lineups, sights and sounds from the ballparks and postgame takeaways as each matchup ends.
Key links: Megapreview | Passan’s take | Bracket | Schedule
Jump to a matchup:
DET-CLE | SD-CHC | BOS-NYY
3 p.m. ET on ESPN
Game 3 starters: Jack Flaherty vs. Slade Cecconi
One thing that will decide Game 3: Perhaps it’s a wide brush, but Detroit’s ability to get the ball in play and convert scoring opportunities into actual runs — or not — is likely to decide Thursday’s game. The Tigers have managed to get quality at-bats early in innings and generate plenty of traffic on the bags, but they’ve been completely unable to turn those scoring chances into runs. Their 15 runners left on base in Game 2 was a record for a franchise whose postseason history dates back to 1907. Over three potential elimination games going back to last year’s ALDS matchup, the Tigers are a combined 3-for-38 (.079) with runners in scoring position. That must change or Detroit will be done. — Bradford Doolittle
Lineups
Tigers
TBD
Guardians
TBD
5 p.m. ET on ABC
Game 3 starters: Yu Darvish vs. Jameson Taillon
One thing that will decide Game 3: Look, this is going to be a battle of the bullpens. Yu Darvish and Jameson Taillon are both going to be on a very quick hook, even if they’re pitching well. But the difference might be which of those starters can get 14 or 15 outs instead of 10 or 11, especially for the Padres given that Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller both pitched in Games 1 and 2 and might have limited availability.
Darvish had a reputation early in his career as someone who couldn’t handle the pressure of a big game, but he has turned that around and has a 2.56 ERA in his six postseason starts with the Padres. Taillon, meanwhile, was terrific down the stretch with the Cubs, with a 1.57 ERA in six starts after coming off the IL in August. This looks like another low-scoring game in which the team that hits a home run will have the edge. — Schoenfield
Lineups
Padres
TBD
Cubs
TBD
8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Game 3 starters: Connelly Early vs. Cam Schlittler
One thing that will decide Game 3: Whether Connelly Early can give the Red Sox some length. Alex Cora’s aggressive decision to pull the plug on Brayan Bello’s start after just 28 pitches in Game 2 led to him using six Red Sox relievers. Garrett Whitlock, Boston’s best reliever not named Aroldis Chapman, threw 48 pitches. Chapman didn’t enter the game but warmed up for the possibility. Left-hander Kyle Harrison, a starter during the regular season, and right-hander Greg Weissert were the only pitchers in Boston’s bullpen not used in the first two games. Early doesn’t need to last seven innings. Harrison, who hasn’t pitched since last Friday, could cover multiple innings. But a quick departure would make the night very difficult for the Red Sox’s bullpen against a potent Yankees lineup. — Jorge Castillo
Lineups
Red Sox
TBD
Yankees
TBD
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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — Back in the starting lineup one night after he was benched for matchup purposes, Jazz Chisholm Jr. put together a season-saving performance for the New York Yankees on Wednesday night with dynamic displays of athleticism on both sides of the ball that fueled a 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series.
Chisholm made a crucial run-saving play with his glove in the seventh inning and hustled all the way from first base on Austin Wells‘ single to score the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning to help the Red Sox force a decisive Game 3 on Thursday.
It will be the fourth winner-take-all postseason game between the Yankees and Red Sox, and the first since the 2021 AL wild card, a one-game format won by Boston.
“Anything to help us win,” Chisholm said. “All that was clear before I came to the field today. After I left the field yesterday, it is win the next game. It is win or go home for us. It is all about winning.”
A mainstay in the lineup all season at second base, Chisholm was left off their starting nine in Game 1 against left-hander Garrett Crochet before entering the loss late as a defensive replacement.
Afterward, Chisholm took questions about manager Aaron Boone’s decision to bench him with his back turned to reporters. It was a poor attempt to conceal his disdain, one that Boone was asked about before Wednesday’s do-or-die Game 2.
“Wasn’t necessarily how I [would’ve] handled it, but I don’t need him to put a happy face on,” Boone said before the game. “I need him to go out and play his butt off for us tonight. That’s what I expect to happen.”
What happened was a clutch effort that kept the Yankees’ season alive.
In the seventh inning, with the score tied and runners on first and second for the Red Sox, Masataka Yoshida hit a ground ball to Chisholm’s right side off Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz that appeared headed to right field to give Boston the lead. Instead, Chisholm made a diving stop. His throw to first base was late and bounced away from first baseman Ben Rice, but Red Sox third base coach Kyle Hudson held Nate Eaton and Chisholm’s effort prevented the run from scoring.
“That was the game right there,” Cruz said. “I think that was the play of the game. There’s some stuff that goes unnoticed sometimes, but I want to make sure it’s mentioned. Jazz saved us the game. Completely.”
An inning later, after Cruz escaped the bases-loaded jam and erupted with a rousing display of emotions, Chisholm worked a seven-pitch, two-out walk against Garrett Whitlock. The plate appearance changed the game.
Wells followed by getting to another full count to give Chisholm the green light at first base. With Chisholm running on the pitch, Wells lined a changeup from Whitlock that landed just inside the right-field line. Chisholm, boosted with his running start, darted around the bases to score with a headfirst slide, just beating the throw to incite a previously anxious crowd.
“Any ball that an outfielder moves to his left or right, I have to score, in my head,” Chisholm said. “That’s all I was thinking.”
The Yankees’ first two runs required less exertion. Ben Rice, another left-handed hitter not included in the starting lineup in Game 1, crushed the first pitch he saw in his postseason debut for a two-run home run off Brayan Bello in the first inning.
The Red Sox matched the blast with a two-run single from Trevor Story in the third inning before manager Alex Cora made a surprising decision in the bottom half of the frame to pull Bello with one out after throwing just 28 pitches. To win, Boston’s bullpen would need to cover at least 20 outs. The aggressive tactic proved effective until Whitlock, the fifth reliever Cora summoned, surrendered Wells’ single on his season-high 48th and final pitch, unleashing Chisholm around the bases.
“What do you expect?” Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge said. “He’s a game changer. But it just shows you the maturity of not taking what happened before and bringing it into today’s game. He showed up ready to play today and ended up having the plays for us throughout the night.”
With a win Thursday, the Yankees could become the first team to take a wild-card series after losing Game 1 since the best-of-three format was implemented for the 2022 season. The Toronto Blue Jays, the AL’s top seed, await in the Division Series. Game 1 is scheduled for Saturday.
If the Yankees get there, they could have a video game to thank. Chisholm credited a late-night video game session after Game 1 in helping turn the page from his disappointment. Playing “MLB The Show” as the New York Aliens — a team he created that features himself, Ken Griffey Jr. and Jimmy Rollins — he drubbed an online opponent by a score of 12-1 and reported for work on Wednesday ready.
“I mercy-ruled someone,” Chisholm said. “That’s how I get my stress off.”
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Alden Gonzalez
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers felt they addressed any concerns about the state of their team over the final three weeks of the regular season, reeling off 15 wins in 20 games. But in case there was any doubt, they displayed their full might in two wild-card matchups against the Cincinnati Reds, the last of which, an 8-4 victory Wednesday night, advanced them into the National League Division Series.
Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, half of a four-man rotation the Dodgers will ride in their pursuit of another title, combined to give up two earned runs in 13⅔ innings. Ten batters, meanwhile, accumulated 28 hits, 15 of which came courtesy of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez, the top half of what is still widely considered the sport’s deepest lineup. In the end, even a weary bullpen — a hindrance throughout the summer and a potential obstacle in the fall — received a much-needed boost.
Roki Sasaki, the prized rookie Japanese starting pitcher who became a reliever after finally recapturing his velocity last month, checked in for the top of the ninth inning and flummoxed the Reds with triple-digit fastballs and mind-bending splitters.
In the dugout, teammates howled.
Later, in the midst of a champagne-soaked celebration, many of them were still in awe.
“That guy is gross,” Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott said.
“Wow,” third baseman Max Muncy added. “All I can say is wow.”
The Dodgers, forced to play in the best-of-three wild-card series for the first time, have advanced to the division series for the 13th consecutive year, tied with the 1995-2007 New York Yankees for the longest streak since the round was introduced. They will now travel to face the Philadelphia Phillies, who beat them in two of three games at Dodger Stadium in the middle of September.
Taking the ball in Game 1 on Saturday, with game time still undetermined, will be Ohtani.
“I know that Sho will revel being in that environment and pitching in Game 1,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “I think we have a really talented rotation. I think it’s going to be a strength for us if we go forward.”
It was obvious Tuesday, when Snell varied the velocity on his changeups while allowing two baserunners through the first six innings. And it was obvious Wednesday, when Yamamoto pitched into the seventh inning without giving up an earned run.
The Reds took an early 2-0 lead when Hernandez dropped a fly ball with two outs in the first and 21-year-old rookie Sal Stewart followed with a two-run single. From there, Yamamoto retired 13 consecutive batters, five via strikeout. The Reds loaded the bases against him with no outs in the sixth while trailing by a run, but Yamamoto somehow wiggled free, getting Austin Hays to ground into a force at home and striking out Stewart and Elly De La Cruz, both on curveballs.
Twenty-two months ago, the Dodgers lavished Yamamoto with the largest contract ever awarded to a starting pitcher. He languished through most of the 2024 regular season, finally rounded into form in the playoffs and followed by putting together a Cy Young-caliber season in 2025. Over his last five regular-season starts, he gave up three runs in 34 innings. That dominance has carried over into October.
“He’s shown why he got the contract that he got,” Muncy said. “It’s really impressive to be behind him. You feed off it.”
The Dodgers offense took off for four runs immediately after Yamamoto stranded the bases loaded, stringing together four hits and cycling through 10 hitters. Just like in Game 1, it seemed as if the team would cruise to victory. And just like in Game 1, the bullpen made it far more interesting than it should have been.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sent Yamamoto back out for the seventh and watched him throw a career-high 113 pitches in hopes of putting less of a burden on his relievers. It bought him two extra outs before Roberts turned to Blake Treinen to end the inning.
But the eighth was once again a struggle. Twenty-four hours after watching the Reds score three runs off Alex Vesia, Edgardo Henriquez and Jack Dreyer in Tuesday’s eighth inning, Roberts turned to Emmet Sheehan, the young starting pitcher who has made a case as the Dodgers’ best bullpen weapon in these playoffs, and hoped for a smoother ride.
Sheehan allowed the first four batters to reach. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Tyler Stephenson then got ahead in the count 0-2 against Will Benson and threw a slider that nearly hit him.
Roberts had seen enough. With two on, one out, the count 1-2 and two runs already across, he approached the mound, shared a word with Sheehan then called on Vesia. Sheehan became the first pitcher to be pulled from a postseason game in the middle of an at-bat with two strikes since Game 5 of the 2021 NL Championship Series, when Roberts replaced an injured Joe Kelly with Evan Phillips.
“I trust him,” Roberts said of Sheehan. “It was his first real crack at kind of late leverage. He wasn’t sharp, but I believe in him.”
Vesia, a left-hander, struck out right-handed pinch hitter Miguel Andujar with a first-pitch fastball then walked Matt McLain and retired TJ Friedl with a slider low and away to end the threat. An inning later, Sasaki came out of the bullpen, befuddled the Reds’ hitters, recorded three quick outs and, depending on what happens in the ensuing weeks, might have changed the complexion of the pitching staff.
A month ago, the Dodgers were languishing. Their offense was inconsistent, their rotation was only beginning to round into form, and their bullpen was a mess.
Now, it seems, they’re bullish.
“I think we can win it all,” Roberts said when asked how far he believes his team can go. “I think we’re equipped to do that. We certainly have the pedigree. We certainly have the hunger. We’re playing great baseball. And in all honesty, I don’t care who we play. I just want to be the last team standing.”
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