After a season of change, Gaudreau sees big things ahead

There was really no way for Johnny Gaudreau to know what to expect when he arrived in Columbus for his debut season as a Blue Jacket.

There was the fact it was his first year in an unfamiliar city on a brand-new team, as the All-Star forward spent the first eight full campaigns of his NHL career in Calgary.

But that paled in comparison to the changes in his family life. Gaudreau and his wife Meredith became parents for the first time with the birth of their daughter Noa just before the start of the season.

Add it all up and Gaudreau fully acknowledged at the end of the campaign that, while the Blue Jackets didn't have the season he would have hoped for in the first season of his seven-year contract, it was a season to remember.

"It was a wild year," Gaudreau said. "A completely new organization, new city, new home, new kid. A lot to be excited about and happy about, but at the same time you have a lot on your plate. I thought I did a good job of managing that.

"Even though it was a rough year for us with wins and not making the playoffs, I enjoyed my time here every single day coming to the rink. I had a blast, and I got to meet a lot of guys that probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to play on our team. I feel like I know every player in the organization now, so that's great coming into training camp next year."

On the ice, Gaudreau was in many ways the same Gaudreau as always. A point-per-game player and a six-time All-Star in his Calgary days, Gaudreau posted 74 points in 80 games -- fifth all-time in CBJ annals -- and made his seventh All-Star appearance. His 53 assists were good for good for fourth all-time in Blue Jackets history, his 20 multipoint games were third in the team record book, and his five-point game March 14 at San Jose was the sixth in CBJ history.

Not bad for a first season in the colors, and Gaudreau said he expects even more from himself going forward. He acknowledged sometimes having trouble adjusting to some new schemes, especially defensively, and also wants more production on the score sheet as well.

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"Offensively I still think I could have done a little bit more," he said. "I try not to base myself on points and stuff, and obviously I had a lot last year (115 in Calgary) and not as many this year, but I think I can play a lot more in the offensive zone and drive the pace a little bit more. That's what I'm going to try to work on this summer and get back to that next season."

While Gaudreau did put together a season that went down in the CBJ record books, the team did so as well -- in an unfortunate way. The team's points percentage was its second-worst ever, and the Blue Jackets were out of the running early on. Yet Gaudreau sees a team of returning veterans and talented youngsters that isn't far away from being back in postseason contention, especially if it can stay healthy in the coming seasons.

"I'm really excited," Gaudreau said. "We're not far off. Even with where we ended up in the standings, with the guys that you're missing for the whole year and half the year and 20 games, 30 games, those are huge players and important players on our team. When you lose a guy like Zach Werenski, there's no replacing guys like that. It's hard. You have to fight through it, but I think we have a really good group in our locker room and I'm really excited to see the way we come in next year because it's going to be fun."

No matter what happens on the ice, Gaudreau knows he'll have plenty of support off of it. One of his stated reasons of signing with Columbus was to be closer to his Jersey home after starting his career on the other side of the continent, and it felt like his parents Guy and Jane as well as other members of the Gaudreau family were never far away.

"It was great," he said. "You know, it was different for sure having a kid at the house, but it was awesome. We had a lot of fun with her. She's getting bigger. I feel like it was just yesterday I signed here and she was born and everyone was congratulating me. But we loved our time here so far this season. We live in a nice neighborhood, people are super friendly. It was a lot of fun this year.

"I said it a few times, it was like an open-door policy at our house. Meredith's family was coming in whenever they want. My dad, I don't even know if he left -- just on the road trips. But it's great. My mom and dad, they love spending time with Noa. They help us out a lot with the baby. You have a family to come and cheer you on for the hockey part is great, but I think they were coming to see her a little bit more I think this year. It was awesome. I loved it."