Johnny Gaudreau will have a familiar face from his Calgary days on the Blue Jackets next season.
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Sean Monahan , 29, has agreed to a five-year contract with the Blue Jackets worth $27.5 million and carries an average annual value of $5.5 million a season against the NHL salary cap. Monahan played eight-plus seasons with Gaudreau in Calgary and nine seasons in total with the Flames, compiling a scoring line of 212 goals, 250 assists and 462 points in 656 games.
He split last season between the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets , totaling 26 goals, 33 assists and 59 points in 83 games in a triumphant return to health after multiple injuries the previous three years ― including surgeries to both hips — limited his availability and production in Montreal and Calgary.
"I went through a bit of a grind there for 2, 2-1/2 years," Monahan said. "I'm fully recovered now. This season was huge. My confidence is back. I feel back to myself. I know how good of a player I can be, and I know I can be a real important piece to help the Blue Jackets turn this around."
That's certainly the expectation.
Monahan will likely start training camp as the top center, according to Blue Jackets president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell.
"It gives us a lot of flexibility," Waddell said. "I think Sean probably jumps right in that number one spot, and then I think ( Adam Fantilli ) falls right behind him, and then whether we keep (captain Boone Jenner ) in the middle or ( Cole Sillinger ), those are great options for us as we move forward here."
The Blue Jackets also have veteran Sean Kuraly to continue centering the fourth line and hulking second-year forward Dmitry Voronkov played center as a rookie for several stretches last season.
"Down the middle is the strength of your hockey team, so we want to be really good, and I think we are really set up to have success with that," Waddell said. "I think down the middle we're going to be very strong."
The NHL's free agency window opened at noon on Monday and Monahan's deal was just one among a litany of new NHL contracts across the league.
The Jackets didn't add additional help from outside the organization and lost a handful of AHL players, but Waddell's not done. Additional defensive depth will be added through the unrestricted market or trade, while leaving NHL roster space for internal candidates — including young defenseman David Jiricek (fifth overall pick 2022).
"We're very comfortable with what's in the system," Waddell said. "Jiricek played games here last year (and) had a great run in the playoffs in Cleveland. We want to make sure we give him an opportunity. We'll probably add at least one more guy to the depth of the team, but when you've got (Zach) Werenski and ( Erik Gudbranson ) and (Damon) Severson and (Ivan) Provorov , that's a pretty good start."
Jiricek, who shoots right-handed, played 43 games for the Blue Jackets last season. He finished with 1-9-10 and a -4 plus/minus rating to go with 22 penalty minutes. Whether he gets a crack to play with Werenski on the top pairing or slots into the second pairing with Provorov will be one of the top storylines in training camp. Whether rookie Denton Mateychuk makes the NHL roster or starts with AHL Cleveland will be another.
Jake Christiansen, a restricted free agent , could be a front runner to make the Blue Jackets' roster as Gudbranson's partner on the third pairing.
"At some point, when the young players are ready, we want to make sure we give them that opportunity," Waddell said. "Just because they turn pro doesn't mean they're ready to play in the NHL, but in Jiricek's case, he's played some games here and he's played in the American League, so I think he deserve an opportunity. He's got to earn it when he comes to camp."
Monahan made sure to stress that Columbus was one of his top options as a free agent regardless of Gaudreau's presence for five more years.
He cited the city's growing reputation as a great place to raise a family as the biggest reason, since he and his wife now have a baby. Gaudreau cited the same reason when he stunned the NHL two years ago by picking Columbus.
"I weighed my options," Monahan said. "It's kind of my first time experiencing free agency, going through it, and having a child who's just over a month old, I think the family side of it was a huge aspect and Columbus was high on the list ― with or without Johnny. So, it worked out and my family and I are very excited."
If it also works out on the ice as expected, the two longtime friends could pay dividends.
They had good chemistry playing together in Calgary and plan to rekindle it with the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau's stats in Columbus have nosedived since signing a seven-year contract worth $68.25 million, but Monahan thinks he can help him rebound.
"I know the way Johnny plays," he said. "I know where he's going to be and where he'd want me to be when he's passing the puck, so he's someone I can read off of well, and obviously a fantastic player. So, I'm looking forward to sharing the ice with him again ... (and) trying to score many goals in that rink."
Monahan won 54.9% of the 1,272 combined draws he took last season for the Canadiens and Jets, and has a 51% career winning percentage. That's a big addition to a team that has struggled to win key faceoffs the past few seasons with anybody other than captain Boone Jenner and Kuraly.
Sillinger showed significant improvement at the dots as the season progressed, but Fantilli and Voronkov each showed their relative inexperience on taking NHL faceoffs. Adding Monahan could take pressure off them, Jenner and Kuraly. In fact, Jenner could move back into a forechecking winger role with Monahan, Fantilli, Sillinger and Kuraly lined up down the middle.
Monahan also adds experience gained from previous stops to the Jackets' locker room.
"We've talked since I've been here about adding leadership to our group with the potential of a top forward, and I think we accomplished both in being able to sign Sean," Waddell said. "He's a first-line centerman, (has) a great (statistical) history and he's also worn letters in different places he's been. So, I think what we set out to do today, we accomplished."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets ink Sean Monahan to five-year deal
