For Sean Monahan, the first day of school feeling hasn’t gone away.
He’s an NHL veteran and one of the most consistent players in the league, but the annual arrival of training camp still gets the butterflies going.
In addition, this year is a different animal. First, Monahan is in a new city with a new team after having signed a five-year contract as a free agent in the offseason to join the Blue Jackets. There’s also the weight of the tragic passing of one of his best friends, CBJ forward Johnny Gaudreau, which has made his arrival in Columbus even more emotional.
“For me, I always have a little bit of anxiety and nervousness going in, no matter if it was my first camp or my 12th,” Monahan said. “You’re excited. You get nervous. You want to make a good impression. You want to feel good. That’s where this comes from, but there’s a lot of weight on our shoulders right now. There’s a huge loss, a special person that’s not here. It’s on my mind every day, every second.”
For all of the Blue Jackets, navigating the path without Gaudreau will be a complicated thing, full of ups and downs, beautiful memories but also days where grief will take over. That’s especially true for Monahan, who has spent more time with Gaudreau than anyone else – eight seasons in Calgary, including five of them as linemates.
Monahan has made no bones about the fact the two players – and families – were extremely close, and the chance to be with Gaudreau again was at least one of the benefits of signing with the Blue Jackets in the offseason.
“I think about it every day,” Monahan said at the team’s media day last week. “We were about to live three houses down from each other. I came in, we were stall mates. There’s a lot that goes into it. He’s arguably my best friend, a teammate for many years. He’s someone that we’re going to miss a lot as a team. Personally, I’m going to miss him. I’ll miss him for the rest of my life.”
In many ways, he’s already started to feel part of a new family with the Blue Jackets. The team has focused on being together as much as possible in the wake of Gaudreau’s passing, and welcoming Monahan to the group has been a big part of that.
Monahan was familiar a couple of Blue Jackets players before he arrived, but the process of getting to know one another has accelerated in recent weeks.
“He walked into a tough situation here meeting the guys for the first time after this happened,” Zach Werenski said. “I give him a lot of credit how he handled everything. Obviously we know John was a big reason why he signed here.
“But I think it goes back to that point of being together. We’re there for him. I think it maybe speeds things up a little bit, the relationships, but he’s handled everything tremendously. Obviously, it’s probably one of the worst times of his life and he’s been awesome to be around. That speaks volumes to the type of person he is.
“As a group, we’re here for him, and we’re just going to be together and get through this thing together.”
From Monahan’s perspective, that has meant volumes, though he didn’t expect anything different.
“Honestly, it’s never really awkward,” Monahan said of coming to a new locale. “I’ve never really met a bad guy in hockey. Everyone is usually pretty welcoming, makes you feel at home right away. But I was familiar with a couple of guys on the team. I met a few guys, talked to a bunch of guys over the summer. Even the young guys, they’re mature, they’re humble guys. It’s a good group. We’re surrounded by some great people in the locker room.”
On the ice, the Blue Jackets are excited to have Monahan, who is coming off a season in which he led the NHL with 83 games played and finished with 26 goals and 59 points. Those numbers are right in line with his career averages per 82 games, giving the Blue Jackets a center who can skate in the top six and contribute offensively.
Add in the intangibles – now through a needed hip surgery that cost him most of 2022-23, he’s back to being one of the more dependable players in the league, he excels at faceoffs and adds a veteran locker room presence – and Monahan was a fit for what the Blue Jackets needed.
“He’s a great player,” captain Boone Jenner said. “Obviously you can see what he brings on the ice, but he’s going to be someone in the locker room that’s huge for us. Playing against him for a while, you can see what he brings. He’s a highly skilled forward who plays center, he’s good on faceoffs, he plays all over the ice. To add that to our lineup along with the experience and the leadership qualities that he has, it’s a great addition for us.”
Monahan is penciled in to be the team’s No. 1 center at the start of the season, spending his time at the start of training camp flanked by the energetic Jenner and scoring wing Kirill Marchenko. While he’s expected to produce in the lineup there, Monahan was also brought in to serve as a mentor for such young centers in the organization as Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger.
“I’m excited,” he said. “There’s a lot of great young players, obviously good veteran players. I’m going to try to lead by example and do the things I do, do the things I’m comfortable with and try to help myself to get better and be able to push other guys on the team too to be better. It’s an exciting group with guys trying to start off and take off in this league and guys that are continuing to try to be great players in this league. It’s a team I’m really proud to be part of.”
While Monahan has just arrived in Columbus, he said he’s already taken a liking to the city. While the road forward won’t always be easy, he’s what he feels like is the right spot to do so.
“I love it here,” Monahan said. “It’s a beautiful place to live. My family loves it here. The staff is amazing. My teammates are welcoming and humble – great people. So it’s exciting. I feel at home here and I’m excited to get this season going.”
