This one is for Johnny and Matthew.
The Blue Jackets will remember and honor the brothers before tonight’s home opener vs. Florida, with the Gaudreau family in attendance and a No. 13 frozen into the ice behind each net.
It’s sure to be a day full of emotions, but first and foremost, there was some joy, albeit bittersweet, to be had Monday when the brothers’ father, Guy, was on the ice with the Blue Jackets for the team’s practice.
A longtime coach as well as a standout player in his younger days, Guy has spent a life around the game. Monday, he chatted with players and coaches, gathered pucks, took some shots on the net and then posed for a team photo with the Jackets at the conclusion of the session.
“It looked like he was just having a blast, just having fun skating,” head coach Dean Evason said. “We finished practice, come in, and I said to him, 'Anytime you want to come out, you're more than welcome.’ And he said, ‘Well, are you having morning skate tomorrow?’ I said yeah, so he's coming out tomorrow as well.
"He just wants to be around, and it's fantastic. With all that family has been through, it’s been fantastic (to have him here). He had such a positive attitude in our room. We were doing practice plan and he's jumping in on stuff. It was really nice. I think it's fantastic that he can be around our hockey club.”
Gaudreau also had a hand in Monday’s final drill, known as the Johnny Skate. Since Evason has started training camp, at the end of practice, a player has a chance to shoot a puck the full length of the ice toward an open net to try to save the squad from conditioning laps.
"If he makes it in the net, it's one lap for the players. If he misses, it's three laps. One-three,” Evason said. “So we said (to Guy), 'Do you want to shoot on the net?' And he goes, 'Yeah, and I'll miss it on purpose.' So I got out there and I said, ‘Full disclosure guys, Guy said this,’ and Guy goes, ‘I told him we were gonna miss on purpose, so you guys have to skate.’ And he missed on purpose and they skated.
“He just loves the game, loves hockey. It was a joy to have him out there.”
Blue Jackets players were glad to have Gaudreau at practice, where he was often no stranger watching from the stands during Johnny’s two years with the team. It was the start of a couple of days that are sure to be filled with emotions, as there might not be many dry eyes in the house before Tuesday’s puck drop.
Coming off a big victory at Colorado on Saturday, the Blue Jackets will want to keep playing the solid hockey they’ve displayed during the first two games of the season. And if they need any inspiration, they say they’ll know where to find it.
“It’s going to be emotional,” Sean Kuraly said. “And then just like John would, we’re turning on the game and we’re playing hockey. We’re taking after things he would do and play his butt off, and we’re going to do the same."
Added one of Gaudreau’s best friends, Sean Monahan: “When we step on the ice, I’m going to step on the ice and play for John. If he was here, he’d be real excited for a day like this.”
Know The Foe: Florida Panthers
Head coach: Paul Maurice (Third season)
Team stats (2023-24): Goals per game: 3.23 (11th) | Scoring defense: 2.41 (1st) | PP: 23.5 percent (8th) | PK: 82.6 percent (12th)
The narrative: One year after coming up just shy of capturing Lord Stanley’s Cup, the Panthers ran it back and got to the top of the mountain last season, beating Edmonton in seven classic games in June to win the franchise’s first Cup. It was quite an accomplishment for former CBJ assistant GM Bill Zito’s squad, and now the challenge becomes trying to repeat. Fellow Floridians Tampa Bay did so in 2020 and ‘21, so it’s possible, and the Panthers still have the stars to do it.
Team leaders: Sam Reinhart inked a long-term deal to stay in Florida after tallying 57 goals, third in the league including an NHL-best 27 power-play markers, and a team-high 94 points a season ago. The next two top scorers from a season will not play tonight – Matthew Tkachuk is currently out with illness but was second on the squad a season ago with a 26-62-88 line, while Aleksander Barkov (lower body) posted 23 goals among 80 points. Carter Verhaeghe was next at 34-38-72, while defenseman Gustav Forsling led the NHL with a plus-56 rating.
Sergei Bobrovsky looked like the “Bob” we know a season ago, going 36-17-4 in 58 appearances with a 2.37 GAA and .915 save percentage. This year, he’s backed up by Spencer Knight, who gave up four goals while earning the loss at Buffalo in his season debut.
What's new: The core of the team remains largely the same, but there were some changes this offseason. Three key defensemen in Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Josh Mahura left, as did former CBJ forward Kevin Stenlund, fellow wings Ryan Lomberg and Vladimir Tarasenko, and goalie Anthony Stolarz. The additions are highlighted by the Boqvist brothers – forward Jesper and defenseman Adam – as well as defenseman Nate Schmidt and forward Tomas Nosek. Rookie wing Mackie Samoskevitch – a Michigan product who will know many of the Blue Jackets – also joins the mix after being a first-round pick in 2021.
Even with Tkachuk and Barkov out, Florida improved to 2-2-0 by capturing a 4-3 victory in a Monday matinee at Boston that featured two goals apiece from Reinhart and forward Anton Lundell.
Trending: The Panthers won all three contests a year ago – a 5-4 overtime victory in Sunrise on Nov. 6, a 5-2 final in Columbus on Dec. 10, and a 4-0 shutout triumph April 11 in Florida. Columbus has won just three of the 17 contests over the past four seasons (3-11-3).
Former CBJ: Now six years into the seven-year deal he signed with Florida at the end of his CBJ tenure, Bobrovsky captured his elusive Cup ring in the spring. Bought out by the Blue Jackets this summer, Adam Boqvist joined the Panthers but took a puck to the face in the opening game vs. Boston; he returned in Monday’s win over the Bruins.
