Johnny Gaudreau Faces Hometown Flyers; Torts Statue in Works?

Johnny Gaudreau wanted to sign with his hometown team, the Philadelphia Flyers, when he became a free agent last summer.

You know the rest.

The Flyers didn’t have the cap space, and they apparently thought he was too expensive for their rebuilding plans. So GM Chuck Fletcher didn’t clear salaries to make room for the six-time All-Star. Gaudreau signed a seven-year deal with Columbus that has an annual $9.75 million cap hit.

The diminutive and speed left winger is off to a good start. His team isn’t. The Blue Jackets’ cannon hasn’t gone off too often. They are 3-9 and have lost five straight, during which they have been outscored, 28-8.

Philly, on the other hand, has a surprising 7-3-2 record, and its next two games are against Gaudreau’s sad-sack Blue Jackets, and Claude Giroux’s struggling Ottawa Senators (4-8).

Two wins would push the Flyers to a stunning 9-3-2.

Has someone been commissioned to build a statue of first-year Flyers coach John Tortorella yet? Or maybe Carter Hart?

OK, we’re jumping way ahead of ourselves. The Philadelphia Flyers could still crash and burn. But the team is playing with grit and confidence, and it is so much more opportunistic and resilient than last season’s squad.

A year ago, when the Flyers fell behind, they usually stayed there. This season,  they have had more comebacks than Jason Bateman in their first 12 games.

Back to Gaudreau. The South Jersey native leads the Blue Jackets in goals (5) and points (9), but has struggled over the last four games, collecting just one assist and a minus-7 rating in that span.

Gaudreau, 29, had a career season with Calgary in 2021-22: 40 goals, 115 points, and a plus-64 rating. That led to his big payday.

Columbus hasn’t played since Saturday, when it dropped a 5-1 decision to Colorado in Finland. The Avs swept the two games overseas against the Jackets, including a 6-3 win.

That means Columbus brings a long losing skid into the game. Just like St. Louis did against the Flyers on Tuesday.

Last season, it was the Flyers who had long losing streaks (10 and 13 games) during the second-worst year in franchise history.

Now they are winning games and using an energetic, patchwork lineup that has had to fill holes caused by injuries to Sean Couturier, Ryan Ellis, Cam Atkinson, and James van Riemsdyk.

Hard to believe, Harry.

Breakaways

The Flyers lead the NHL with seven rookies who have played at least one game this season. Wade Allison paces the Philly rookies in goals (3), points (4) and shots (21). … Former Flyer Jake Voracek, 33, has six points (1-5) and a minus-7 rating for Columbus. He was injured and didn’t play Saturday. The Flyers traded Voracek to Columbus for Atkinson before last season. … The Flyers are 4-1-2 in one-goal games.