Johnny Gaudreau And The Rise Of Columbus
All aboard the Blue Jackets bandwagon
Ever since deciding I have had enough with the Chicago Blackhawks organization, I have been having fun watching hockey from a fairly neutral perspective. The playoffs were tremendous, a team not named the Lightning won and the league continues to get more exciting with superstar talent.
One of those talents is Johnny Gaudreau, who had some very strong seasons early in his career, then a pair of down years for his standards, only to completely ignite in 2021-22, finishing the season with 40 goals and 115 points, helping lead the way to a league-best plus-minus of +64.
Gaudreau, who will be 29 when the next season begins, was the pretty clear-cut top free agent this offseason after everything he accomplished. The reports were that the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers were all major players in trying to get him. Gaudreau’s old team, the Calgary Flames, also was certainly hoping to bring him back after such a successful eight seasons together.
But Gaudreau didn’t go to any of those teams. He didn’t go to a different stacked roster for an easier route to a Stanley Cup. He didn’t even go to a different team that threw a truck of cash his way. Nope, Gaudreau went to the Columbus Blue Jackets for 7 years, $86.25 million.
It’s one of the most surprising free agency signings in recent memory. It’s also deeply, remarkably cool.
Columbus has such an odd perception by the masses, especially as someone who lived in it for six years. It is HUGE: the 14th-largest city in the United States by population with just under a million people. Just including cities with NHL teams, the population would make it the eighth largest.
Unlike a lot of the more populous cities above them (New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia), the Blue Jackets is one of just two professional sports teams in the city, the other being the Columbus Crew in the MLS.
But Columbus has the reputation that seemingly all of the state of Ohio has: It’s a boring, cold, lame city, why would any superstar want to go there? Sadly, the Blue Jackets’ history with players to this point seemed to prove it true.
Rick Nash, the Jackets’ first true star, was drafted by Columbus, but eventually wanted out and ended up in New York for the Rangers. The Jackets got steals when trading for superstar forward Artemi Panarin and Vezina-winning goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, but both ended up leaving the same way, with Panarin also headed to the Rangers, and Bobrovsky to the Florida Panthers.
Other star players have came to the Blue Jackets, but almost always through trades or the draft. That is why this Gaudreau acquisition feels so special.
Gaudreau was, as stated, the free agent at the top. He finished fourth in MVP (Hart Trophy) voting, is an exceptional playmaker as well as a goalscorer, is directly in his prime and was the best player on a Calgary team that finished with a 50-21-11 record, sixth-best in the NHL.
He chose Columbus. This was not a trade, this was not a decision by anyone else: Johnny Gaudreau wanted to join a Blue Jackets roster that finished 19 points out of the playoffs, a franchise that’s Wikipedia looks like this:
The Blue Jackets didn’t even overpay for him. Getting Gaudreau for under $10 million is a complete steal, and it wasn’t even his highest offer. But here he is, wanting to come to Columbus.
Maybe there’s something everyone is missing as to how the man labeled as “Johnny Hockey” found his way to Columbus. But I am choosing to relish in this moment, a true win for a fan base that deserves it. Outsiders see the Blue Jackets as a small market, but Gaudreau has witnessed it, and knows the excitement that the team can get from the city.
From The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline:
“I’d never been to Columbus before until I made it to the NHL, so when I started playing there I didn’t know what I was walking into, and I was just … ‘Wow!'” Gaudreau told The Athletic by phone late Wednesday. “They’ve always had great crowds, really into the game. I said to myself then, ‘This looks like a really fun place to play.’
“But it was more than that. I played in the (world championships) with Zach Werenski. I’ve known Eric Robinson for like 15-20 years. And some former guys, like Cam Atkinson and Dalton Prout … those guys were just like, ‘You’re going to absolutely love the place.'”
And later on in the story, when talking about the reactions:
“It’s all outside noise to me,” Gaudreau said. “I’m super excited about where I’m at. I think it was a great decision for me and my wife and we’re just over the moon right now. Super excited.”
Looking just on the ice, this immediately makes the Blue Jackets, at the least, a playoff contender. Columbus was never really going to make a postseason push with the roster last year, but it fought much better than anticipated with an extremely young set of players.
Zach Werenski, who Gaudreau mentioned, is a tremendous defenseman who will be just 25 years of age next season. Patrik Laine has a rocket launcher of a shot and will be 24. The goaltending tandem of Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo has had significant highs and should improve after a down campaign last season. Columbus also added a pair of defensemen — David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk — with top-12 selections in the draft.
There’s a foundation there to eventually build a true contender for a Stanley Cup, but getting a player like Gaudreau on board was necessary. It is maybe the most significant moment in the history of the franchise, only matched by the remarkable sweep of Tampa Bay in the postseason. Columbus has always been a city worthy of this, but it took a player of this caliber to believe that.
Now Gaudreau has believed it, and the Blue Jackets can build something truly special. I feel it, and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen feels it too.
Again, from Portzline’s terrific story:
“I think we can finally get rid of the bullshit that this is somehow a bad destination, a bad city, whatever,” Kekalainen said. “Because it’s never been true. We got a bad rap because a couple of people decided all along that they weren’t going to be here long-term for various reasons, but it has never been about the city or the organization.”
I’m ready to hop on the bandwagon.
Columbus forever.
Go Jackets.
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