Monahan playing with heavy heart

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This article was published 01/11/2024 (339 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

COLUMBUS — Sean Monahan would have loved to return to Winnipeg. He thoroughly enjoyed his brief stint with the Jets organization following a trade last February, just as the team welcomed the production he brought as its second-line centre.

“A great time there,” Monahan told the Free Press on Friday as he prepared to face his former team at Nationwide Arena. “A great group. Looking back it was a time I will always remember.”

However, the Columbus Blue Jackets came calling on Canada Day and made him a free-agent offer he couldn’t refuse, one that presented an opportunity nobody else could offer — a reunion with former Calgary Flames teammate and longtime friend, Johnny Gaudreau.

Tragically, the pair never got to hit the ice together with the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau, along with his brother, Matthew, were killed by an alleged drunk driver as they biked home from their sister’s wedding rehearsal in New Jersey this past August.

The hockey world was in shock. Monahan was hit especially hard, forced to soldier on without Gaudreau at his side. He’s playing with a heavy heart, but channeling those emotions into a stellar start for himself and the rebuilding Blue Jackets.

“Everything,” Columbus head coach Dean Evason said Friday when asked what Monahan has brought to the organization after signing a five-year deal that pays him US$5.5 million per season.

“Right from the Johnny Gaudreau situation, his best buddy, and how he handled it. His maturity. Then leading that into the hockey end of it. He’s just a calm presence, a veteran guy who goes about his business. Good in all areas. Great in the room. Team first. He’s been a perfect fit.”

Monahan, 30, had nine points (5G, 4A) in his first nine games with Columbus centring the top line between young Russian wingers Yegor Chinakov and Kirill Marchenko. That’s earned him the nickname “Monahanov” around these parts.

“Both pretty funny guys. It’s been going well. We have lots to build off. I gotta start to learn a little bit more Russian for sure,” Monahan joked.

Monahan scored in the home-opener in Columbus and pointed at a Gaudreau banner that had been raised in an emotional pre-game ceremony. Following the game, he fittingly received the first donkey hat players are now giving out after victories as a tribute to Gaudreau, who loved to call people “donkeys.”

“I think we’ve been playing together as a team. There are ups and downs we’ve obviously gone through since the beginning of the season,” said Monahan.

Although they were tasked to trying to keep him in check on Friday night, his former Jets teammates were happy to see him thriving in his new hockey home.

“Not surprised he’s off to a great start. He’s a fantastic player and he finally has a clean bill of health,” said defenceman Dylan DeMelo.

“He’s really cerebral. When he came in here, there was instant chemistry on that second line and he was a huge piece of the power play. A guy that does everything. He’s a great pro, a great person. We loved having him here and I’m happy to see that he’s off to a great start.”

Monahan had 24 points (13G, 11A) in 34 regular season games after being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2024 first-round pick, then had one assist in five playoff contests.

“Obviously we didn’t go as far as we wanted, but that’s hockey,” he said, adding he’s not surprised the Jets are off to a flying start this year.

Monahan, the sixth-overall pick of the Flames in 2013, has been a great mentor to many of the young players on Columbus, such as sophomore forward Adam Fantilli.

“He’s the man,” Fantilli said Friday. “I love being around him. Right from when he came in the locker room he’s been loved. He likes to have fun, he’s played some pranks on me. I think he’s a great teammate, one of the best I’ve had.”

Fantilli and Monahan have much in common, including being first-round picks (Fantilli went third-overall in 2023 and they share the same birthday, Oct. 12) and have had to battle through injuries.

“I’m not going to change who I am wherever I go. There’s guys you can learn from, there’s guys you can help teach,” said Monahan.

“There’s different roles you can play on a team like this, and it’s exciting for me. I’m really proud to be here.”

AROUND THE GLASS

EVASON EVOLVES

Evason admits getting fired by the Minnesota Wild early last season was a humbling experience, one that led him to do a bit of soul-searching.

The 60-year-old from Flin Flon took some time to reflect on both the past and the present on Friday, saying he’s come a long way in the past 25 years — from a rookie bench boss in the Western Hockey League “who didn’t know what I was doing” to the man now guiding the Blue Jackets.

“Just as in life, you go through different situations. You make mistakes and you learn from them and when they come up again hopefully you don’t make the same mistake,” said Evason, who was hired this summer to replace Pascal Vincent, the former Jets assistant and Manitoba Moose head coach.

Evason can be as intense as they come — remember him challenging Jets head coach Rick Bowness to a fight two years ago during a particularly nasty Winnipeg/Minnesota clash? — but he seems to have mellowed a bit, cracking numerous jokes during his latest media sessions.

“I think you’re constantly learning, you’re constantly getting better, hopefully,” said Evason. “The longer you do this, the more experiences you have. The best thing you do is you hire properly. You get really smart people. Not that our coaches are real smart.”

Zing!

“We’ve got a good group. Everyone has input. That’s the one thing I’ve learned over the years, your coaching staff has to be the same as your team. It has to be team-first, it has to be well-rounded, it has to have voices in there and it has to have accountability,” he said.

“I love our coaching staff because we make each other accountable every day. We challenge each other in different situations, and we’re a good team in there.”

STONE SHINING

Winnipegger Mark Stone is off to the most productive start of his NHL career.

The captain of the Vegas Golden Knights went into Friday’s action leading the NHL in points with 19 through 11 games.

Back to full health, Stone has recorded at least a point in 10 of 11 games and already has three separate three-point outings for the Golden Knights, who sit atop the Pacific Division with a record of 7-3-1.

The 32-year-old right-winger was the NHL’s first star of the week and is up to 94 goals (including 20 game-winners) and 275 points in 285 games since he was acquired by the Golden Knights from the Ottawa Senators.

HAPPY HOMECOMINGS

One popular first-overall pick went back to face his original team for the last time, while another was in the building he starred in for the first time as a visitor.

Emotions ran high for both Marc-Andre Fleury and Steven Stamkos this week.

Fleury, who has announced that this season will be his last, was feted by the Pittsburgh Penguins faithful even as he made 26 saves to help the Minnesota Wild win on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Stamkos began to tear up after Lightning fans gave him a lengthy standing ovation after a thank you message was played on the scoreboard during a broadcast timeout. He chipped in a pair of assists as the Predators dropped a 3-2 overtime decision and is up to a goal and three points in 10 games with his new team.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld