COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) 鈥� The Columbus Blue Jackets convened for training camp Wednesday weighed down by the grief of losing star forward Johnny Gaudreau three weeks ago.
One of the worst teams in the NHL last season, the Blue Jackets must find a way to move forward with a new general manager and new coach and with a huge void left on and off the ice by .
鈥淭here's a lot of weight on our shoulders right now,鈥� said Sean Monahan, who signed with Columbus July 1 because he wanted to play alongside Gaudreau again. They were teammates and best friends during eight seasons together playing for Calgary.
"I'll miss him the rest of my life," said a somber Monahan, who will dress next to Gaudreau's empty stall in the Blue Jackets locker room.
Captain Boone Jenner said coping with Gaudreau's death is 鈥渢he new reality" for the Blue Jackets.
鈥淭o say we know exactly what to do, I don't think that's fair,鈥� said Jenner, who's in his 12th season in Columbus. 鈥淚 don't think there's a playbook out there for this situation and what has happened. And that's OK. I think we're going to learn and lean on each other as we go on.鈥�
Gaudreau along with his brother Matthew on Aug. 29 when they were hit by a car driven by an alleged impaired driver while bicycling near their hometown in Oldsman Township, New Jersey.
This is the team鈥檚 second camp in recent years that follows the offseason death of a player. Goaltender in July 2021 of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar blast at the wedding of an assistant coach鈥檚 daughter.
The Blue Jackets will have their first day on the ice on Thursday with a new coach, , and the new general manager who hired him, Don Waddell.
Defenseman Zach Werenski, another longtime Blue Jacket, said the players are eager to get back to work.
鈥淚t's been some tough stuff that鈥檚 going on the last couple of weeks, but I think we鈥檙e excited for it,鈥� Werenski said. 鈥淛ust keep playing hockey again and, doing what we love to do and doing it together.鈥�
Waddell said there will be available for players who may have a tough time making sense of playing hockey after Gaudreau's death.
鈥淭he guys know Johnny would want us to go play hockey,鈥� said Waddell, who was hired to replace Jarmo Kekalainen, who was the longest-tenured general manager in the history of the franchise when he was fired in February.
On the ice, the Blue Jackets are in serious need of some stability.
Injuries, bad luck and mismanagement have knocked Columbus off track in the past few seasons, despite Gaudreau鈥檚 74- and 60-point efforts in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively.
Last season under coach Pascal Vincent, the Blue Jackets finished last in the Metropolitan Division and out of the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Columbus plays its first preseason game at Buffalo on Sept. 23 and opens the regular season Oct. 10 at Minnesota, the team that fired Evason after 19 games last season.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 juices are going," Evason said. 鈥淎nd we're excited about getting on the ice and actually implementing what we want to do as a coaching staff, to start the process of establishing our structure, our work ethic.鈥�
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AP NHL: and
Mitch Stacy, The Associated Press
