The Columbus Blue Jackets went without forward Johnny Gaudreau again on Sunday night against the Arizona Coyotes as he continues to recover from a lower-body injury.
Gaudreau, 29, has 15 goals and 52 points in 55 games with the Blue Jackets this season. Prior to missing Saturday’s game against the Dallas Stars, Gaudreau had appeared in 349 consecutive games.
The Blue Jackets signed Gaudreau to a seven-year deal worth $9.75M per season as an unrestricted free agent from the Calgary Flames last July.
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound winger scored 40 goals and 115 points in 82 games with the Flames in the 2021–22 season.
The Flames originally selected Gaudreau in the fourth round (No. 104 overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. The Salem, NJ product spent parts of nine seasons with the Flames to begin his NHL career, helping the club reach the playoffs five times.
Through 657 career games with Calgary and Columbus, Gaudreau has collected 225 goals and 661 points. He’s also recorded 11 goals and 33 points in 42 playoff games, most notably scoring the Game 7 overtime winner as the Flames defeated the Dallas Stars in the 2022 Western Conference quarterfinals.
The Gaudreau-less Blue Jackets defeated the Stars by a 4–1 score in Dallas, TX on Saturday.
The Coyotes beat the Blue Jackets 3-2 in overtime on Sunday.
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