The hockey world was shocked last week when top free agent Johnny Gaudreau decided to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets, though he maintains it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. In a lengthy interview on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Gaudreau confirms that he was talking with the New Jersey Devils before eventually deciding to sign with Columbus:
I was only talking to like two or three teams. I was super thankful that Columbus called during that late hour in the afternoon, because I was pretty much going to–I think I was trying to get a deal done with the Devils, and then Columbus called. I was like ’I want to go here” and my agent got it done.
Gaudreau directly answered a question about the Philadelphia Flyers, explaining that though he still maintains it would be nice to play for his hometown team, he knew for quite a while that they wouldn’t be involved because of their cap situation.
Now excited about starting the next chapter of his career in Columbus, Gaudreau related how many players he already knew on the roster and how welcome the organization made him feel right away–including rookie Kent Johnson texting general manager Jarmo Kekalainen to offer up No. 13 before a deal was even signed.
With Patrik Laine next to sign, Johnson and other young players in the mix, and Gaudreau penciled in as a potential MVP-level player for the next few years, the Blue Jackets’ offensive group suddenly looks quite imposing. There is some work for Kekalainen yet to do, with just a bit of cap space available and Laine owed at a minimum a $7.5MM qualifying offer, but fans will be happy to hear just how excited Gaudreau is about the idea of playing in Columbus.
The Devils, who missed out on the star winger, ended up signing Ondrej Palat a few hours later, handing out a smaller contract but still landing one of the top free agent options. They then acquired John Marino from the Pittsburgh Penguins to shore up the defensive end, eating up more of the cap space that could have gone to Gaudreau.
Good news for all parties and things to look forward to. Guess that happens when you actually make moves in the off-season @seattlekraken. Yeah yeah they’re planning to pay 10 & 51 later. Still think they should take a run at Nic Roy. Not sure what his QO was but it doesn’t have to be north of 900k if I read the capfriendly calculator correctly. I digress. Jersey and Columbus will be fun to watch!
As a Kraken fan I’m very glad they did very little. Free agent signings do not win you cups. Big free agent signings keep you from winning cups. Be patient.
Ed Belfour, Scott Niedermyer, Adam Graves, Scott Stevens, Zeno Chara…
Yes. In the pre-cap era big free agent signings led to cups. In the cap era they don’t.
Brett Hull, Marion Hossa, John Tavares…………OOPS!
Hossa is the last one, and that was 13 years ago.
Chara was noted by padam. He won a cup 11 years ago and was a big money free agent signing for Boston, so Hossa can’t be the last one.
I have some thoughts on Gaudreau that I’d like to share and would really like to hear your thoughts.
He’s a career 77.9 point (82 game average prior to last year, 83 points including last year) guy who kinda disappears in the playoffs where he’s had 33 points in 42 games which translates to 64 points every 82 games. For Flames fans that remember Kent Nilsson, who had the reputation of disappearing in the playoffs, his Flames playoff numbers translated to 69 points every 82 games. It’s even harder to win in the post season when your top point producers in the regular season underachieve. A few years ago there was talk in Calgary of trading him for that very reason. The fan base was frustrated. He’s small and soft and simply isn’t a leader / heart and soul kinda guy. Talented and fun to watch? Absolutely, but that’s not enough to win when it matters most.
I’ve always been concerned with players who have their best season when their contract’s up. Now that he’s locked up for 8 years we’ll see how motivated he is. Unless he can take Sutter and his line mates with him I see no reason to expect, going forward, that he will produce anything more than he did prior to last year.
In Calgary they were so fortunate to be able to watch Theo Fleury for as long as they did. Heart and soul. 100% worthy of being captain. His regular season point numbers are microscopically better than JG’s. Fleury’s playoff numbers are better than his own regular season numbers. That’s the kind of guy who can get you over the top. He was also gritty, an agitator and tough as nails. Gaudreau simply isn’t that kind of small player. When he loses a step it’ll be very damaging to his production. To have $10.5 tied up for 8 years is, to me, potentially crippling. I believe better value can be realized by spending it elsewhere.
It is a 7 year contract….got that outta the way. And being that Johnny is an elite playmaker and he will have Laine on the other wing, I see that they can get away from an elite center for now. If CBJ can trade Nyquist and sign Laine long term, they will be taking another big step this year. Kudos to them!
The truth is he just wanted to follow Gudbranson to Columbus. Johnny hockey would be a Coyote right now if Gudbranson signed in the desert.
I didn’t see Gaudreau “disappear” in this years playoffs. I saw him score the winning goal in overtime of game #7 against Dallas and put up 14 points in 12 games. Gaudreau will be fine in Columbus. Maybe not 115 points kind of fine, but should be good for at least 80 points. Columbus will need to enhance his value by bringing in an elite center which should be easier with the chance to center a line between Laine and Gaudreau. Most Flames fans are trying to rationalize the situation as if to say “he wasn’t any good anyway” and that’s just not so. Going back to last Wednesday, few teams in the east had the cap space to sign him. They were Ottawa, Detroit, Buffalo, New Jersey and Columbus. It seems he didn’t want to play in Canada anymore, so that eliminated Ottawa. he’d probably had his share of rough winters which eliminated Buffalo (although Buffalo is doing a great job of rebuilding their team).. Detroit has a great future, but may have been too far from home or maybe just an area he didn’t want to leave his family when he was on the road. He seems, from the interview to not really have been interested in New Jersey, which left Columbus as his only logical choice. Time will tell how this works out for all parties involved.
Thanks for the response. I referenced his over all career playoff numbers. He underachieves compared to the regular season. As I said, when those your rely on the most in the regular season under produce in the playoffs it makes it that much more difficult to win. This year, his playoff numbers were lower than his regular season average points per game. Yes, he had a decent playoff. I didn’t say he disappears I said he kinda disappears. I think, at least statistically, you can’t argue with that. Also, as I said unless he can take his coach and linemates with him there’s no reason to expect him to get any more points than he did per season prior to last year. on that, we agree as you said in your response 80 points. His lack of toughness and grit is not much of an issue in the regular season but is something that, to me, is a huge shortcoming that can’t be compensated for in the postseason. In my more than 55 years as a hockey fan I’ve seen far too many players lacking those intangibles that cost their team dearly in the post season.
This is of course, all speculative. In determining the future, the past is usually a good starting point. My main points are that he’s not a heart and soul kind a guy nor is he tough, gritty or a great leader. To me, this is only my perspective, those are very important things in winning.
I don’t live in Calgary or Alberta and never have. I like the flames but there are several teams I like better. I honestly believe the money can be spent better elsewhere.
You are of course correct saying he signed a seven-year deal. My mistake.
These forums are great for exchanging perspectives. We all have different priorities and often have different opinions. Exchanging information pretty much always winds up in us having more complete opinions.
I have no interest in trying to make someone else see things my way. I’m simply looking to exchange points of view and learn.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
It seems like the Devils made the assumption that, since the Flyers didn’t have cap space, they were negotiating against themselves. Thus, they thought they could lowball Johnny Hockey and missed out.
I know it’s slow af, but why keep beating this old ragged rug?
The answer is, in your question.