Death of Gaudreau hits Columbus hard

The Blue Jackets could hardly believe their luck when they persuaded superstar Johnny Gaudreau to pass up larger markets and sign two years ago.

- MITCH STACY

A makeshift memorial was created outside Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

Ecstatic fans looked to Johnny Hockey to score goals and jumpstart 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 care to hang around. Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin were beloved and led Columbus to a playoff sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019, then couldn’t get out of town fast enough when their contracts expired.

Gaudreau, who spent his first eight years 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 his sudden death along with his brother on Thursday night in a shattering tragedy even harder to take. He was just 31.

“Johnny 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 went to Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Friday to pay his respects.