Gaudreau: “We just decided it was best not to go back to Calgary”

The Columbus Blue Jackets introduced the biggest signing in franchise history on Thursday.

Johnny Gaudreau came into free agency as the top player on the open market following a 40-goal, 115-point season with the Calgary Flames. Big-market Eastern Conference teams such as the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers were speculated as destinations for Johnny Hockey, but he wound up inking a seven-year, $68.25 million contract to play in Columbus.

Never have the Blue Jackets landed a star with Gaudreau’s pedigree in free agency. In fact, they’ve often been the team that loses these types of players, with the likes of Rick Nash, Artemi Panarin, and Sergei Bobrovsky leaving the team to play in other markets.

Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic on Wednesday that signing Gaudreau should put an end to the narrative that Columbus isn’t a place where players want to be.

“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.

While it might feel as though the Blue Jackets came out of the blue in the Gaudreau sweepstakes, the New Jersey native said that Columbus was always a place that was on his list. And the more he talked to people about Columbus, the more he liked the idea of playing there.

“Every person I talked to…seemed more excited (about Columbus) than the last one,” Gaudreau said. “It sounded like a perfect spot for us. It’s going to be a special place for us and it’s hard not to like what we’ve seen already today.”

Gaudreau is leaving a lot on the table in Calgary. According to Frank Seravalli, the Flames’ offer was for roughly $15 million more than what he wound up taking from the Blue Jackets. The Flames are also a team that just won the Pacific Division, while the Blue Jackets finished 10th in the Eastern Conference in 2021-22.

Despite that, Gaudreau said that he decided that he wanted to leave Calgary so that he could be closer to home.

“I always dreamed about playing a tad closer to home,” Gaudreau said. “It didn’t matter where I was signing, we just decided it was best not to go back to Calgary, and Columbus was right up there at the top of the list. They’re a team I was really excited about.”