For a 'special' group of Blue Jackets, saying goodbye was the hardest part

A season no one will ever forget ended sooner than everyone would like, but the bonds built between the team and fan base will live on

Finishing two points shy of a playoff spot this season was a bitter pill for the Blue Jackets to swallow as competitors and hockey players.

But perhaps the hardest part? Having to say goodbye for the summer as people.

While the bulk of the team will return in September to get ready for the 2025-26 season, last week was the last time this particular group of guys will be together.

Bonded by tragedy, strengthened by adversity, and lifted by the support of a fanbase and a community, the 2024-25 Blue Jackets were a “special” group according to just about anyone you asked.

“This is a tight-knit group,” president and general manager Don Waddell said. “We had no issues at all. Usually you have small issues. We had no issues with this group at all this year. They did a lot together – on the road, dinner together, lunches together, at home, family things together.

“This is a very good group of people. I always say you surround yourself with good people, you have a chance for success.”

In the end, the Blue Jackets thrilled Nationwide Arena crowds, posting their best points percentage since 2019-20 and tying a franchise record for its most points earned at home in a season. They often leaned on a 5th Line with which head coach Dean Evason described their relationship as “family,” a fan base that was there as a backbone in the hardest of days.

Yes, it was a memorable year in many ways, inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. The Blue Jackets began the season dealing with the grief of the shocking passing of teammate Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, and the team honored the two throughout all 82 games with both its play and its actions.

“Johnny Hockey” was remembered in gestures both big and small, from the No. 13 banner hanging in the rafters to the Gaudreau jersey placed in the locker room for every game to the Avalon Surf Shop hoodies and three-star Amiri hats that became part of the team’s wardrobe on a regular basis to chants of his name from fans at the season finale.

The Gaudreau family was a constant presence in Columbus, starting with the emotional tribute to the brothers at the team’s home opener in October. Gaudreau’s wife Meredith and his kids led the team into Ohio Stadium for the NHL Stadium Series game in March, just days after Nationwide Arena fans came together sang “Happy Birthday” to Johnny Jr., and his mother Jane accompanied the Blue Jackets on their mothers' trip.

“We played for Johnny all year, and we’ll continue to,” captain Boone Jenner said on exit day last Friday. “He’s part of our dressing room and a teammate forever. It was special that way this year playing for him. We mentioned it so much, but he’s going to continue to be part of our group. Even last night, (Meredith) was at the game with the kids. Johnny would be so proud of that.

“Just the strength that he’s given us and (Meredith) and the family has given us, seeing them around has been unbelievable and truly inspiring.”

Many wondered how the Blue Jackets could play hockey after such a devastating tragedy, but encouraged by Meredith's words, in many ways it was the only thing they could do. The ice was where they could find the passion and joy that Gaudreau was known for, with the team speaking throughout the season about wanting to play and live like Johnny.

“I think what happened was when we got on the ice, it was our time to really live and enjoy and play,” alternate captain Sean Kuraly said. “I think that’s what you saw. When we stepped on that ice, it was about being there. It was a group that was present. When you get on the ice and you have fun and you enjoy it and you play, I think good things happen.”

Off the ice, as Waddell mentioned, it was a group that seemingly did everything together, no matter if they were the team’s 12th-year captain or one of the numerous players who seamlessly fit into the squad after joining this season.

There were leaders like Jenner, Kuraly, Zach Werenski and Mathieu Olivier, who have been part of the fabric of the squad for years; veterans like Sean Monahan and Erik Gudbranson, who had played with Gaudreau in Calgary and were among his best friends; young talents like Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson, part of a burgeoning core of blossoming skill players whom Gaudreau had taken under his wing; and new additions like James van Riemsdyk and Dante Fabbro that joined this season and filled key roles.

No matter who they were, they were part of a team that very quickly became a family.

“It was truly a special year and just a lot of fun getting to know everyone in the organization and on the team,” said Fabbro, who was picked up on waivers in November. “I think every guy can attest in that locker room just how much fun we had together and the belief we had in the room.”

Evason has said throughout the season that when he arrived in Columbus, he was told by those from the outside that he had to go about changing the culture with the Blue Jackets. Instead, what he found was a committed group of players who cared about one another and about getting the franchise back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and taking it to new heights.

He never could have predicted the roller coaster of emotions that the season would entail, but the Blue Jackets are now united forever by the bonds that were formed from both good times and bad.

“We have love,” goaltender Elvis Merzlikins said of the locker room. “We have love going on there. From the start of the season through the end of the season, it got just better and better. ... Here, we have family. The guys right now, they care about each other, they work their (butts off).

“I think that what I’m going to remember (about this season) is that we became a family. We grew together. We did good things this year.”