Significant move brewing to somehow fill Johnny Gaudreau’s void in Columbus

The tragedy remains that Columbus Blue Jackets star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother Matthew tragically died when they were stuck and killed by a drunk driver while riding bikes in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, on August 29, on the eve of their sister’s wedding, where both brothers were to be groomsmen.

Johnny Gaudreau will never be replaced in the Jackets’ organization and dressing room, however, general manager Don Waddell still needs to look for help, as it was confirmed that he is down to 10 healthy forwards with Justin Danforth dealing with a hand and wrist issue that required off-season surgery. According to Chris Johnston, Columbus could be looking for help outside the organization after signing James van Riemsdyk to a one-year, $900,000 contract on Sunday. This is what Johnston reported on Insider Trading on TSN last night:

“After that signing, Don Waddell, the Blue Jackets general manager said he still wants to get at least one more forward in-house. The sense is that the Blue Jackets are willing to be creative in how they do that. I don’t think it will necessarily come in the form of another UFA, they’ll look at PTOs, they’ll look at the waiver wire. I think they’re also being pretty active on the trade market, trying to see if maybe there’s some situations around the league, maybe some younger players that could become available from other teams as they work through their own roster issues, trying to get cap compliant by opening night. But the sense is the Blue Jackets will be patient here, and they may end up getting this forward by trade, versus the traditional route in just signing one.”

If Waddell can’t make a trade happen in time, the Jackets could look to target forwards on PTO contracts with other clubs, or could sign a guy like Phil Kessel, who everyone is looking to see back in the NHL.

Last week, the Spittin Chiclets Podcast posted online that Kessel should be able to return and crack one of the 32 rosters.

Last Friday, Elliotte Friedman reported that the 36-year-old forward still hopes to play this upcoming season, saying he REALLY wants to continue playing in the NHL.

Columbus could be a great landing spot for Kessel, who was selected fifth overall by the Boston Bruins in 2006, has played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes and Golden Knights, recording 413 goals and 579 assists over 1,286 games. He did not play last season, but took part in all 82 games with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2022-23 and put up 14 goals and 22 assists. He only played four games in the playoffs and the Knights went on to capture their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. He also owns the NHL’s iron man streak with 1,064 consecutive regular-season games played.

I would love to see him join the Blue Jackets in what will be an emotional season, following the tragic loss of Johnny Gaudreau this offseason.