Columbus Blue Jackets officials could hardly believe their luck when they persuaded superstar Johnny Gaudreau to pass up larger markets and sign here two years ago.
Ecstatic fans looked to 鈥淛ohnny Hockey鈥� to score goals and jump-start the fortunes of a struggling team that had reached the playoffs just six times in the previous 21 seasons and advanced beyond the opening round only twice.
A few other big stars had spent time with the Blue Jackets, but for one reason or another they didn't work out or didn't care to hang around. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and forward Artemi Panarin were beloved by fans and led Columbus to a playoff sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019. But they couldn't get out of town fast enough when their contracts expired.
Gaudreau, one of the sport's top players who spent his first eight years in the NHL with Calgary, certainly seemed different. He was excited to play for Columbus and be closer to his family in New Jersey, which for Blue Jackets fans makes a shattering tragedy even harder to take. He was just 31.
鈥淛ohnny Gaudreau coming here, actually choosing Columbus was literally our validation. Like we are a hockey town, this is a hockey market. People want to play here. Johnny Gaudreau was literally the embodiment of that," said Nick Shannon, who came to Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Friday to pay his respects.
Gaudreau and his younger brother died after they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while they were riding bicycles in Oldmans Township, close to their southern New Jersey hometown. Their , scheduled for Friday, was called off.
鈥淲hen he first signed, his famous words were, 鈥業t鈥檚 a great place to raise a family.鈥� And we were his family,鈥� said Ninell Baker, a Blue Jackets season-ticket holder who also showed up at the downtown arena. 鈥淭he players loved him. We all loved him. It breaks my heart. I don鈥檛 even know how to act.鈥�
Fans who made their way to the front of the arena left behind flowers, caps, shirts and lots of hockey sticks. A bagpiper in a kilt and a Blue Jackets' No. 13 Gaudreau sweater played as he walked up and down a sidewalk.
Gaudreau's shocking death was the second off-ice tragedy in three years for a franchise struggling to get back on its feet. The organization was rocked when goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks was while attending the wedding of then-Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace鈥檚 daughter in Michigan. Kivlenieks was just 24.
Injuries, bad luck and mismanagement have knocked the Blue Jackets off track in the past few seasons, despite Gaudreau's 74- and 60-point efforts in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively.
Coach John Tortorella led Columbus to the playoffs for four straight seasons but was fired after missing the postseason in 2021. A protege, Brad Larsen, lasted two seasons before he was let go.
The Blue Jackets made Mike Babcock the highest-paid coach in team history when he was hired in the summer of 2023. Babcock didn't even make it to the season, fired just before training camp .
Pascal Vincent, who had been hired as an associate head coach, was elevated to the top job on the eve of training camp. Columbus finished last season as one of the worst teams in the NHL and out of the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
was fired in the middle of last season. Longtime NHL executive Don Waddell was hired as GM in May, and he Waddell hired to replace Vincent.
Now Evason will be without Gaudreau, who would have been his best player. He will also be without Patrik Laine, the talented forward acquired in a 2021 trade who the team hoped would complement Gaudreau on the top line.
The 26-year-old Laine played 18 games last season before entering the NHL Player Assistance Program last January. Telling Blue Jackets management he needed 鈥渁 change of scenery,鈥� Laine was traded to Montreal last month.
鈥淲e really don鈥檛 have a choice but to keep going," Shannon said. "To be a Blue Jackets fan, or any sports fan in Ohio, you need to be resilient.鈥�
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Associated Press freelancer writers Nicole Kraft and Cameron Moone contributed to this report.
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AP NHL: and
Mitch Stacy, The Associated Press
