The shock has worn off, right? You’re not reading this, remembering that Johnny Gaudreau signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and getting gobsmacked all over again. You can’t be. That happened a couple months ago. Get over it.
(If you were shocked back in July when Gaudreau pulled a last-second, $68.75 million swerve toward Central Ohio, you’re excused. We all were — including, according to Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski, the team’s front office. It all happened at can’t blame anybody.)
In any case, it’s time to move into the next phase of a new era in Columbus. The big fish came to town. Now what happens? Is Gaudreau enough to turn them from last season’s pleasantly surprising, ultimately sub-mediocre group into something more? Is one ultra-elite performer enough to make a forward corps playoff-caliber?
The short answer is no. The reasons for that are many. Gaudreau’s arrival weight, tangible and otherwise, but as it stands, this remains a roster that needs more work — and more time — before it’s doing anything more than punching up in the Metropolitan Division.
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