Blue Jackets say Gaudreau ‘would have loved’ Stadium Series against Red Wings

COLUMBUS -- When the Columbus Blue Jackets practiced at Ohio Stadium on Friday, coach Dean Evason spoke to captain Boone Jenner. He brought up Johnny Gaudreau.

“Do you think Johnny would like to be here?” Evason asked.

“Hell, yeah, he would,” Jenner said.

Gaudreau will be here in spirit when the Blue Jackets play the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+, TVAS-D, FX-CA).

Evason said Gaudreau’s widow, Meredith, will lead the team onto the field. Can you imagine the emotion? The NHL expects a crowd of more than 90,000, which would be the second largest in NHL history.

“There’s just so many ways Johnny has inspired us,” Evason said.

This will be another.

“We think about him and what he would do a lot of times,” Jenner said. “‘What would Johnny do, or what would Johnny say? How would he approach this?’ There’s no doubt he would have had a blast.

“We’re going to play for him, obviously, tomorrow like we have all year and honor him that way, the best way we can.”

Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, died Aug. 29. They were riding bicycles at home in Salem County, New Jersey, when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver, who has been charged with two counts of death by auto.

“Johnny Hockey” loved the game. He loved his teammates. He loved his family.

The Stadium Series would have been one of the highlights of his NHL career.

“He would have loved this, everything about it,” Jenner said.

Gaudreau brought joy to the rink, and that’s what NHL outdoor games are about: joy. They come around only so often for a team -- this will be the first in Columbus history -- and bring out the kid in a player amid the 82-game regular-season grind.

Just look at the Blue Jackets on Friday: Forward Mathieu Olivier ran onto the field in an Ohio State football helmet and headed a soccer ball as his teammates kicked it around to warm up, smiling and laughing.

“That’s all fun and games,” Olivier said. “Honestly, everything about this is a kid’s dream, right?”

They skated on the outdoor ice as if on a frozen pond or backyard rink, dreaming of what the stadium will look like with the stands full Saturday.

“I’m going to take a moment to enjoy that and then get down to business,” said forward Sean Kuraly, who grew up in Columbus going to Ohio State football games here. “There will definitely be on the way out a few looks around where I’m like, ‘Dang, this is pretty cool.’”

Evason didn’t know Gaudreau before he was hired July 23. He said when they met for the first time, Gaudreau didn’t talk about, say, how they should run the power play.

“All he said was, ‘I want to win. I want to win, and I want this to be a close team,’” Evason said. “And that’s what our guys are.”

Partly due to him. When the Blue Jackets select their player of the game in the dressing room, they award him a donkey hat, because Gaudreau used to call his teammates donkeys. After a 5-2 win against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Thursday, you could hear them hooting and hollering as they gave it to center Joseph LaBate, a 31-year-old center who had earned an assist, his first NHL point.

The Blue Jackets took a team photo before practice Friday. Defenseman Zach Werenski said this is the closest group they’ve had in years.

“We enjoy coming to the rink,” Werenski said. “There’s no cliques in the room. Everyone just hangs out with each other. Sit next to new guys on the plane all the time. It’s just a lot of fun. I feel like when you have that atmosphere in your room, you’re bound to have success, and that’s what we’re doing right now.

“This is another moment for us to just come even closer together and enjoy it together.”

The hockey world was shocked when Gaudreau left the Calgary Flames and signed a seven-year, $68.25 million contract with the Blue Jackets as an unrestricted free agent July 14, 2022, but he did it for family. He and his wife had two children in Columbus: son Johnny and daughter Noa.

Gaudreau’s father, Guy, has skated with the Blue Jackets in a track suit this season. His mother, Jane, traveled on the moms’ trip to Detroit on Thursday in his No. 13 jersey. As teams do after practices at outdoor games, the Blue Jackets held a family skate Friday.

“That family skate after would have been special for him too,” Jenner said.

When the Blue Jackets dress for the game Saturday, Gaudreau’s No. 13 jersey will be hanging in the locker room, as it has all season.

“He’s constantly with us,” Evason said. “He’s in our dressing room. His jersey’s there every night, and not just game nights. He’s with us all the time.”

What would Johnny do? What would Johnny say? How would he approach this?

He’d have a blast.