“You’re playing with me” – Forward Patrik Laine thrilled to have Johnny Gaudreau as teammate in Blue Jackets
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Patrik Laine eager to have Johnny Gaudreau as his teammate
Forward Patrik Laine was pumped up to find out that the Columbus Blue Jackets signed up forward Johnny Gaudreau signed with the team when NHL free agency opened on July 13th. He already started planning on playing with Gaudreau on the same line as Gaudreau signed a 7-year $68.25 million contract with the Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old forward led the Flames with 14 points in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Later the team was eliminated in 5 games by the Oilers in the Western Conference Second Round. Gaudreau was tied for 2nd in the NHL last season with 115 points in 40 goals and 75 assists in 82 games. On a side note, Laine signed a 4-year $34.8 million contract with the Blue Jackets.
Patrik Laine excited Johnny Gaudreau
Learning that Johnny Gaudreau joined the team, Patrik Laine noted, “I was like, ‘No, no, no chance. No chance. You’re playing with me'”. “Then I checked my phone and all these messages, I checked Twitter and all that and I saw we got Johnny. I was pretty pumped. I feel it was hard to scroll my phone, my hands were shaking. It’s so exciting to get that kind of player on your team. Obviously, he can help us in so many ways.”
As per nhl.com, he further said, “Like I said to (Blue Jackets general manager) Jarmo [Kekalainen] when they signed Johnny, I told them that I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited to play hockey and maybe be able to play with this kind of guy”. “Just excited to get the season going and just can’t wait.” Both forwards are left-wingers but Laine made it clear that he wasn’t stuck on any side and could take whatever was assigned to him.
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Blue Jackets finished 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They qualified for 4 consecutive seasons but missed the playoff for the second straight season. Laine commented that he is pretty excited to roll the skates and he liked the effort the team gave in signing up Gaudreau, “I feel we took a really good step in the right direction this summer. Jarmo and all of the management did a great job of drafting great players and making good deals”. “So as a player, that’s all you can ask for. They want to make this team better, that’s what all the players want.”
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Kaushani Chatterjee
(2140 Articles Published)