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'Monny' for Masterton: Sean Monahan's a deserving candidate for 'perseverance' award
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- 'Monny' for Masterton: Sean Monahan's a deserving candidate for 'perseverance' award
Coming off the ice after a recent practice, the Blue Jackets were asked to pick which teammate they'd choose to pull a prank with.
Answers varied, but one name dominated the list: "Monny."
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That's hockey lingo for Sean Monahan , whose quiet persona and monotone voice provide perfect cover for a side of him that's apparently a bit more devious.
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"It's honestly just how I am," Monahan said, smiling. "I'm just trying to have fun, stay light and that's something I usually do on a daily basis. I get it back sometimes, too, so you've got to keep your head on a swivel."
Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan passes the puck during the third period of Columbus' 7-6 shootout win over the Canucks on March 28.
The fact Monahan can still tap into his dry sense of humor is remarkable.
While becoming a franchise pillar for the Blue Jackets after signing a five-year contract last summer , Monahan has dealt with a searing heartache that followed the shocking loss of his friend Johnny Gaudreau , who was killed Aug. 29 along with his younger brother, Matthew, as they rode bicycles together in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.
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Monahan signed with the Jackets mostly to reunite with Johnny Gaudreau , whom he'd become close to as Calgary Flames teammates. The rekindling of their friendship was cut tragically short, but Monahan has persevered to become a key part of the Blue Jackets, on and off the ice.
He's their top center, the key to their power play, and his mentorship of multiple young forwards — including second-year center Adam Fantilli — has made him a catalyst for speeding up the Blue Jackets' rebuild. Monahan, who's fourth on the team in scoring despite missing two-plus months after wrist surgery, has also produced at a point-per-game pace. He has 50 points with 18 goals and 32 assists in 49 games, and his +15 plus/minus ranks third highest on the team with five games left.
Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan warms up before a game earlier this season.
Sean Monahan is Columbus Blue Jackets ' nominee for Masterton Trophy
For those reasons, the Columbus chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association has chosen Monahan as the Blue Jackets' nominee for this year's Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is named after the only player in NHL history to die from an in-game injury. The winner is determined by PHWA vote after nominees from the league's 32 markets are put up for consideration by each chapter.
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Monahan was an easy choice for the Blue Jackets.
"He's just been everything you'd want in a teammate and more," Blue Jackets center Sean Kuraly said. "It's unprecedented challenges he's dealt with this year, and he showed up every day, worked his butt off and has been a really good teammate ... and would definitely be deserving of an honor like that."
Last summer, Monahan agreed to a five-year deal with the Blue Jackets worth $27.5 million, but neither the salary nor term were the main reasons he signed. Choosing the Jackets was a chance to link back up with Gaudreau, who'd shocked the NHL two years earlier by making the same choice in free agency.
Johnny and "Monny" were eager to reunite in Ohio and rekindle their top line magic from Calgary. It was a perfect fit from that aspect and Monahan gave the Blue Jackets another seasoned "top six" center to go with captain Boone Jenner .
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Tragedy struck two months later.
Blue Jackets forward Sean Monahan (left) talks to forward Boone Jenner during the first day of this season's training camp.
Sean Monahan bonded with Columbus Blue Jackets over shared stories about Johnny Gaudreau
Gaudreau and his brother were struck and killed by the driver of an SUV, Sean Higgins, who's currently jailed and has multiple criminal charges levied against him. Monahan and the Blue Jackets, meanwhile, were devastated.
Rather than attending training camp with Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets attended a vigil for him and Matthew outside Nationwide Arena. A short while later, they went to the brothers' heart-wrenching funeral services outside of Philadelphia .
A couple of weeks after that, wearing a Gaudreau T-shirt, Monahan met with reporters at the Blue Jackets' preseason media day and said that he and his family planned to live just a couple houses away from Gaudreau and his family.
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Monahan's pain was visceral, just as it was for the Blue Jackets who played with Gaudreau the past two years. How could Monahan or any of his new teammates even possibly think about, let alone play hockey, at a time like that?
They had no choice.
The NHL's schedule is 82 games long — not including preseason tilts — and stops for nothing other than league-issued lockouts and worldwide pandemics. Neither of those affected this season, so Monahan and the Blue Jackets started on time. They've also made a surprising push to join the playoff race in the Eastern Conference while honoring Gaudreau in numerous ways.
Monahan first wore the team's new donkey hat postgame award after a 6-4 victory Oct. 12 over the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver, the day he turned 30. It was a tribute to Gaudreau, who'd kiddingly call friends or teammates a "donkey" whenever they made him laugh.
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That was 75 games ago.
Since that night, the Blue Jackets have handed out "the donkey" after every win, kept Gaudreau's stall intact in their locker room at Nationwide Arena — right next to Monahan's — displayed his jersey after every single game.
Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan speaks during the team's media day press conferences at Nationwide Arena. Monahan is wearing a shirt honoring late teammate Johnny Gaudreau.
It feels like Sean Monahan has been a Columbus Blue Jacket longer than one season
Monahan, meanwhile, has been a visible presence all season, despite the long-term wrist injury. He and Erik Gudbranson even walked with members of the Gaudreau family to lead the Blue Jackets out of the home tunnel at "The Shoe" for the NHL Stadium Series victory over the Detroit Red Wings .
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Along the way, Monahan has connected with the Blue Jackets to a point where it now feels like he's been in Columbus much longer. They've bonded over memories of Gaudreau and have special moments of their own now.
"I've heard a couple (Gaudreau stories) for sure," Monahan said. "We talk about him a lot. The fun part is these guys knew him too. I was very excited to play with him again and be his teammate, but with the group knowing his personality and whatnot, it's fun to tell stories about him and relive some of the memories."
Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson admits to being the victim of teammate Sean Monahan's pranks on occasion.
Messing with his new team helps too.
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After a recent practice, Gudbranson emerged from a back entrance to the Blue Jackets' locker room and sauntered down a hallway lined with reporters. Numbers for players requested for interviews are written on a white dry-erase board inside the locker room, and Gudbranson's No. 44 was listed that day.
"Anybody here want to talk to me?" he asked a hallway of shaking heads. "Or did 'Monny' write my number on the board again?"
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets' Monahan earns Masterton Trophy nomination
