When prized free agent Johnny Gaudreau chose to sign a massive deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, the hockey world was stunned by the news.
But Gaudreau himself did not give the decision a second thought, signing for seven years and $68million.
"I wanted to come here. This was always a place circled on my list," Gaudreau said during his introductory news conference.
The Blue Jackets have developed a reputation with some in NHL circles as struggling to retain talent after trading away young core players like Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson, and Gaudreau addressed those concerns head-on.
"I'm not really sure about any other players. We're not talking about why people don't want to be at Columbus; it's not a topic in the locker room," he said.
"For me, I just heard so many great things from former players, and it made me feel really comfortable with my decision to come here."
Since their inception in 2000, Columbus have never won a division crown and have yet to play in a Conference final series. The Blue Jackets missed the playoffs last season with a 37-38-7 record.
"I think there's a lot of potential," the 28-year-old winger said. "I thought it was a good spot for me personally. We can have a lot of success here.
"They've got good players on this team. And I'm really looking forward to jumping in with this group. I've heard a lot of great things.
"They're a close-knit group, and that's who you want to play with are guys who get along in the locker room and love coming to the rink and working together every single day, and it's just a healthy environment to be around, and that's exciting to me."
Gaudreau spent the beginning of his career with the Calgary Flames, tallying 609 points (210 goals, 399 assists) in 602 games. He set career highs with 40 goals and 75 assists last season.
A New Jersey native, Gaudreau had been linked to teams in the U.S. Northeast, including the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers, before ultimately choosing Columbus.
Magic savour 'special' Washington triumph after record-equalling ninth straight win
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero and coach Jamahl Mosley both lauded a "special" night for the team as they equalled the franchise's record winning run by overcoming the Washington Wizards.
Banchero finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Franz Wagner had a game-high 31 points as Orlando beat Washington for the second time in two days on Friday, clinching a 130-125 success at Amway Center.
The victory was Orlando's ninth in a row, taking them to 14-5 for the season and matching their longest ever streak, with the team having previously won nine straight in 1994, 2001 and 2010-11.
Orlando are one of just two NBA franchises – along with the Indiana Pacers – to never enjoy a double-digit winning run, but they have the chance to do so for the first time when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
"It's pretty special," Banchero said of the team's run, which began with the first of back-to-back road wins over the Chicago Bulls on November 15.
"Eventually I think a loss is going to come, but we just want to keep it rolling for as long as we can.
"But you're not surprised when you do something like this because we've got great chemistry and we play really well together."
Orlando are up to second in the Eastern Conference, with only the 15-4 Boston Celtics and the 14-4 Minnesota Timberwolves boasting better records across the entire league.
Head coach Mosley said: "It's a big time for this group, but more importantly, I think it's a big time for the fans and the organisation.
"There's an energy, there's a vibe, a buzz about this group, and our guys are doing a good job of embracing it, not getting too high or too low but being able to register that this is something special."
NHL: Sharks defeat Devils for 1st road win of season
Jacob McDonald and Anthony scored two goals apiece and the San Jose Sharks defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3 on Friday for their first road win of the season.
Kaapo Kahkonen matched a season high with 44 saves and Mikael Granlund had a goal and two assists for the league-worst Sharks, who entered 0-10-0 away from home with just six goals in those games.
Dawson Mercer, Jack Hughes and Ondrej Palat scored as New Jersey had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Akira Schmid stopped just 12 of 17 shots one day after making 44 saves in a 4-3 overtime win at Philadelphia.
Timo Meier returned for the Devils to face his former team after missing seven games with a lower-body injury.
Merzlikins leads Blue Jackets over Senators
Elvis Merzlikins turned aside 41 shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets scored four unanswered goals in a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Goals by Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk gave Ottawa a 2-0 lead midway through the first period, but Patrik Laine scored on a power play with 5:07 left in the period and Dmitri Voronkov tallied less than a minute later to tie it.
Adam Fantilli and Boone Jenner scored in the second period and Merzlikins was perfect on 16 third-period shots to help the Jackets improve to 4-2-0 in their last six games.
Joonas Korpisalo made 19 saves for the Senators in his first game against the team where he spent the first 7 ½ seasons of his career.
NHL: Penguins goalie Jarry scores goal, stops 39 shots in win
Tristan Jarry scored into an empty net and stopped 39 shots to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-2 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
With the Penguins protecting a 3-2 lead, Jarry stopped a dump-in and sent the puck end-to-end with 68 seconds remaining.
Jarry is the fourth goalie to score in the past 10 years, and 14th overall in the regular season. He is the first Penguins netminder to score a goal.
Jeff Carter scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Sidney Crosby and Drew O’Connor also found the back of the net for Pittsburgh, which is 2-0-1 in its last three games.
Steven Stamkos and Tanner Jeannot had first-period goals as Tampa Bay dropped its third straight following a 4-0-1 surge.
Dewar has hat trick in Wild’s win
Connor Dewar recorded his first career hat trick and added an assist as the Minnesota Wild rolled to a 6-1 rout, ending the Nashville Predators’ six-game winning streak.
Dewar appeared to score a fourth goal with just over four minutes remaining but was taken away after the Wild were ruled to be offside after a video review.
Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who have won both games under new coach John Hynes.
Hynes served as Nashville’s coach for parts of four seasons before being relieved of his duties this past offseason by new general manager Barry Trotz.
Marner carries Maple Leafs to shootout win
Mitch Marner scored three times in regulation and added the shootout winner to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken.
Marner ended an eight-game drought with his second career hat trick, also accomplished in a four-goal game against Detroit on Feb. 26, 2022.
Auston Matthews also scored in the shootout and had two assists to help the Leafs improve to 5-1-1 in their last seven games.
Jared McCann scored twice as Seattle lost its third in a row (0-2-1).
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