Patrik Laine couldn’t believe it when a friend told him the Columbus Blue Jackets signed forward Johnny Gaudreau when NHL free agency opened on July 13.
“I said, ‘No, no, no way. No way. You’re playing with me,'” the Blue Jackets forward said Saturday, a day after signing a four-year, $34.8 million contract of dollars (8.7 million annual average value) with Columbus.
“Then I checked my phone and all these messages, I looked at Twitter and all that and I saw that we had Johnny. I was pretty excited. I feel like it was hard to move around with the phone, my hands were shaking. It’s really exciting to get- ho. kind of a player on your team. Obviously, he can help us in a lot of ways.”
Laine is already thinking about possibly playing on the same line as Gaudreau, who signed a seven-year, $68.25 million (AAV 9.75 million) contract with the Blue Jackets on Wednesday. Gaudreau led the Calgary Flames and was tied for second in the NHL last season with 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists) in 82 games. He set career highs in goals, assists, points, game-winning goals (nine) and shots on goal (262).
The 28-year-old also led the Flames with 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Calgary was eliminated in five games by the Edmonton Oilers in the Second Round of the Western Conference.
Video: Johnny Gaudreau joins Columbus
Laine, who had been a restricted free agent, had 56 points (26 goals, 30 assists) in 56 games with Columbus last season. The 24-year-old said he always wanted to stay with the Blue Jackets, but getting Gaudreau makes it even more appealing.
“As I told (Blue Jackets general manager) Jarmo [Kekalainen] “When they signed Johnny, I told them I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to play hockey and maybe get to play with that type of guy,” Laine said. “I’m excited to start the season and just can’t wait.”
Laine and Gaudreau are each left-handed; if they play together, it will have to move to the right side. Laine played right wing in some games last season, with Jakub Voracek on the left, and said he could make it work.
“I’d probably prefer the left side for me, personally, but it doesn’t really matter,” Laine said. “You have certain options from the right, certain things from the left. At the end of the day, you’re going to be all over the place anyway. It’s usually on paper, whether you play left or right, where you start for matchups, but you can still be creative.
“Jake and I used to laugh, every now and then, that we were all over the place, we don’t really know what we’re doing every now and then. But yeah, it doesn’t matter. coach wants me to play, I’ll play and that’s pretty much it “.
Columbus (37-38-7) finished sixth in the Metropolitan Division and missed the playoffs for the second straight season after qualifying four straight seasons. The Blue Jackets have advanced past the first round once since joining the NHL in 2000, sweeping the Tampa Bay Lightning in four games in the Eastern Conference First Round in 2019 before losing to the Boston Bruins in six matches in the second round.
Laine, who is entering his third season with the Blue Jackets after being acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 23, 2021, said Columbus is a great place to live and play. He wants to help the Blue Jackets get back to the postseason and make an impact there, and he said the moves they’ve made, especially the signing of Gaudreau, should get them closer to that goal.
“I think we took a really good step in the right direction this summer. Jarmo and the whole management did a great job of selecting great players and making good deals,” Laine said. “So as a player, that’s all you can ask for. They want to make this team better, that’s what every player wants.”