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Johnny Gaudreau says he had his eye on Columbus for a while

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Cooper Godin
July 14, 2022  (3:40 PM)
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One day after signing a massive seven-year, $68.25 million contract with the Blue Jackets, Johnny Gaudreau met with the media in Columbus. He told reporters that the Blue Jackets were circled on his list for a while.

"I've gotten to play here many times, and every time it's a lot of fun to play here," Gaudreau said. "There's a good, young group here, and that attracted me too. Me and my wife thought it was a really good fit for us. It was somewhere that I had circled on my list for a while now."

The 28-year-old decided to test the free agent market, informing the Calgary Flames late on Tuesday night. Gaudreau spent parts of nine seasons in Calgary, recording 609 points in 602 games and winning the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2016-17.

"I always dreamed about playing a tad closer to home," Gaudreau said. "It didn't matter where I was signing. I think our decision was it was best for us not to go back to Calgary. Then we decided what to figure out, what the best option (was) for us, and Columbus was right up at the top of the list."

Gaudreau, a native of Salem (New Jersey), will fit in well with the Columbus Blue Jackets and is just the type of player General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen needed to add.

Along with Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets have a solid core with Patrik Laine, Oliver Bjorkstand, Jack Roslovic, Jakub Voracek, Gustav Nyquist, Boone Jenner, Zach Werenski and Elvis Merzlikins. Columbus also has a fairly good prospect pool/young player group with Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Boqvist, David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk. The Blue Jackets could become a serious playoff contender in the Metropolitan Division in the next two years.

Do you think Johnny Gaudreau will end up being an effective signing for the Columbus Blue Jackets? Let us know in the poll below!

Source: theScore.

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JUILLET 14   |   223 ANSWERS
Johnny Gaudreau says he had his eye on Columbus for a while

Will Johnny Gaudreau be an effective signing for Columbus?

Yes10044.8 %
No12355.2 %
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