Blue Jackets Sunday Gathering: NHL's melding of Ohio State and Blue Jackets could signal a new day

New York Times

02-03-2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Two worlds collided on Saturday in Columbus in a way many locals never imagined.
Script Ohio was formed in the middle of Ohio Stadium, but in a hockey rink, not on a football field. A crowd of nearly 95,000 chanted 'Johnny Hockey' one minute and sang 'Hang On, Sloopy' the next. The Ohio State University's championship football team was honored in the middle of a hockey game.
Advertisement
And in the afterglow of the Blue Jackets' 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL's latest Stadium Series game, the band played and the crowd sang 'Carmen Ohio,' Ohio State's alma mater.
Most of those fortunate enough to attend the NHL's 43rd outdoor game seemed almost to float out of chilly Ohio Stadium late in the evening on Saturday, convinced that they'd witnessed one of the truly unique and memorable nights in the long sporting history of Columbus.
Maybe some were wondering, too, if this is the beginning of a new day in Ohio's biggest city, one in which Columbus' major sports franchises do more than simply co-exist, but start working on ways to support and elevate each other.
It hasn't always been that way.
When the Blue Jackets first arrived on the scene in 2000, Ohio State acted like a big brother who never really wanted a sibling. If not for Blue Jackets founder John H. McConnell, who pushed to build Nationwide Arena beginning in 1998, the Jackets would have played in Schottenstein Center and lived under OSU's thumb.
Even though Nationwide Arena and Ohio Stadium are barely three miles apart, the Blue Jackets and Ohio State existed in almost separate universes during the early years of the Blue Jackets.
This has never made sense, of course. Fans in Detroit have no issue cheering for the Red Wings, Tigers and Lions and either Michigan or Michigan State. Fans in Boston support the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and either Boston U. or Boston College.
Too often, fans in Columbus have been placed in different buckets, in which they either cheer for Ohio State or the Blue Jackets or the Columbus Crew, one of Major League Soccer's top organizations. In fact, that's never been true. The vast majority of fans have no issue supporting all three.
For fans of certain age, Columbus had a certain sporting hierarchy for most of their lives. The block 'O' of Ohio State loomed large above the local sporting scene, with the Blue Jackets and Columbus Crew fighting to be seen in the periphery.
It's too big to be acting that way.
This is a surprise to many, even locals, but Columbus is Ohio's largest city, with 913,000 residents, according to the latest U.S. Census. It's bigger than the combined populations of Ohio's better-known big cities Cleveland (362,000) and Cincinnati (311,000) by nearly a quarter-million residents.
Advertisement
Judging by online comments on this site and others, there were some Blue Jackets fans who felt as if Saturday's game had too much of an Ohio State touch.
I'm sure there are Ohio State fans who weren't too excited to have an NHL game played in 'their' stadium, especially one featuring a Columbus dressed in blue and the Michigan team wearing red. (Hey, at least it wasn't scarlet!)
Each of those opinions are valid, of course, but both of them, I believe, are in the minority. Sports, like politics, can make for strange bedfellows. Most fans, especially those 30 and younger, see Ohio State sports, the Blue Jackets and the Crew as existing on even footing.
Most on hand for Saturday's festivities seemed to stand in awe of the scene and the atmosphere, the perfect melding of the city's two biggest sports franchises.
Saturday's game probably wouldn't have happen if not for key developments at Ohio State and in college athletics, specifically football. The expanded college football playoffs, now at 12 teams, requires universities to host opening-round games, meaning teams (especially in the north) needed to get their buildings ready for winter. Ohio State took steps to winterize Ohio Stadium — the tune of $8 million — in the event that it hosted a game.
And wouldn't you know, they hosted Tennessee in a first-round game on Dec. 21. Before the grand old stadium was winterized, the water would have been shut off by that date, leaving it unable to host events such as an outdoor hockey game.
It's likely that Ohio State president Ted Carter (an avid hockey fan) and new athletic director Ross Bjork will signal a change in the future relationship, too.
There were minor quibbles behind the scenes of Saturday's events.
An NHL executive told The Athletic that Ohio State at first resisted allowing the league to refer to the game as 'the' Stadium Series because OSU has trademarked 'THE' on clothing and other branded products.
Advertisement
The school also wouldn't allow Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to put buckeye leaves on his helmet, and they wouldn't allow the NHL to use its name for the pre-game football pep rallies — Skull Session — to promote its own pep rally in St. John Arena.
But to get stuck on these details is to ignore the big one: Ohio State opened up its grand stage, the largest stadium in Ohio and one of the largest in the country, so that the Blue Jackets and the NHL could have a celebration. Saturday is a night many will remember forever.
In the minutes after the Blue Jackets clinched the win and the cannon blasted for a final time, fans filed out of Ohio Stadium singing 'We Don't Give A Damn for the Whole State of Michigan,' just as they do on football Saturdays.
Except this time they wore Blue Jackets sweaters.
Meredith Gaudreau and her two kids helped lead the Blue Jackets onto the ice on Saturday. The Red Wings arrived at the stadium decked out in Gaudreau jerseys from all points in his career, including his high school days. A gigantic No. 13 flag was passed around Ohio Stadium in the third period.
As has been the case all season, the Stadium Series game was full of tributes and remembrances of Gaudreau, who was killed along with his brother Matthew when they were struck by an SUV while riding bikes in New Jersey last August.
But the Blue Jackets found a subtle and special way to honor their former teammate on Saturday, They walked into St. John Arena for a pre-game pep rally, then walked several hundred feet through a tunnel of fans wearing sweatshirts from Avalon Surf Shop in Avalon, N.J., located just off the Jersey Shore beach.
Play as Johnny played. Dress as Johnny dressed. #CBJ enter Ohio State's St. John Arena to a thunderous welcome, honoring Johnny Gaudreau, who always wore hoodies and T-shirts repping businesses from back home. pic.twitter.com/ylSL383VjO
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) March 1, 2025
On non-game days, Gaudreau would often be seen in shirts and sweatshirts that repped local businesses near his Jersey home.
'It was a pretty collective (idea) with the older guys on the team,' Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. 'We thought it quite a while ago, and we just thought it was fitting. To us, that's the signature Johnny 'fit, and we've seen him come to the rink in that or something very similar. It's just a special thing we wanted to do for him, and we've had so many good times with him in those clothes.
Advertisement
'Mere helped us out so much in tracking down those sweaters that he always wore from Avalon, and we just kind of pieced together the rest. It was special to wear that and come in like that, for us.'
Jane Gaudreau, Johnny and Matthew's mother, was also in Ohio Stadium in Saturday after returning from Detroit on Thursday, where she was included in the Blue Jackets' moms trip.
On Sunday morning, Meredith Gaudreau released a statement through the Blue Jackets:
On behalf of Meredith Gaudreau: pic.twitter.com/7yhUHlD8Sn
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 2, 2025
• Well into the fall, there was private concern within the Blue Jackets and the NHL that ticket sales were lagging for the Stadium Series and Ohio Stadium might not be close to sold out when Saturday's game was staged. But NHL president of content and events Steve Mayer said the league was impressed by the brisk pace of ticket sales as the game drew near. Early last month, Mayer said the league was expecting about 85,000 fans. By the early part of last week, he indicated that it would clear 90,000. The final count: 94,751.
The league did not announce a capacity, but they took roughly 10,000 seats out of 'inventory,' Mayer said, because the large section of seats behind the Twenty One Pilots' stage was obstructed. Also, the league had to create camera decks in C-deck sections on both sides of the stadium.
• It was the second-largest crowd in NHL history, exceeded only by the 2014 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium. The announced attendance to watch the Red Wings and Maple Leafs that day was 105,491.
• The Blue Jackets have come out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break with four straight wins: 5-1 vs. Chicago, 6-4 vs. Dallas, 5-2 in Detroit and 5-3 vs. Detroit on Saturday. They've now scored five or more goals in 19 of their 60 games this season, including a franchise-record four consecutive games. They scored five-plus in three straight games way back in February of the inaugural season (2000-01).
Advertisement
• Defenseman Zach Werenski assisted on Dmitri Voronkov's power-play goal in the second period and on Adam Fantilli's empty-net goal with just over a minute to play on Saturday. It was his 16th multi-point game of the season, but it also allowed him to catch a franchise legend. With 258 career assists, Werenski is now tied with Rick Nash for the most in franchise history. It took Nash, a power forward and goal-scoring behemoth, 674 games. Werenski is at 545 games and counting.
• Plus-minus is a much-debated stat, but there's no question right winger Kirill Marchenko is on quite a run. He's plus-35 on the season, tied with Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh for tops in the entire NHL. If this holds, it'll be a franchise record, as the previous mark was held by defenseman David Savard (plus-33 in 2016-17).
Since Dec. 15, Marchenko has a plus-25 rating in 27 games, and in that span he's had only one game — one! — with a negative. He was minus-2 on Jan. 20 when the Blue Jackets lost a road game to the New York Islanders.
• Sunday Gathering trivia question: Werenski had a secondary assist on Voronkov's power-play goal on Saturday for his 21st power-play point this season, matching a career high. Who holds the franchise record for the most power-play points in a single season?
• Red Wings coach Todd McLellan, who interviewed for the Blue Jackets job last summer before GM Don Waddell hired Dean Evason, was asked after Saturday's game what he sees in the Blue Jackets after coaching against them three times since he was hired by Detroit on Dec. 26.
'They're having fun playing the game,' McLellan said. 'When you're having fun playing the game, it comes easier. Their staff has done a tremendous job putting structure in their play. The belief system is strong. Put those things together, you give yourself a chance to win. The talent is spread out throughout the league, but you have to have those three things to have success, and Columbus has them right now.'
• Saturday was Detroit's fourth outdoor game, but first since 2017. So for many players on the roster — not Dylan Larkin or Erik Gustafsson, and certainly not Patrick Kane — playing outside was a new experience, especially in the NHL.
Advertisement
Here's McLellan on how the Red Wings viewed the scene in Ohio Stadium: 'It's a really unique experience for us, an incredible night. Well done. The league, the city of Columbus, and obviously the Blue Jackets deserve a lot of credit for the way they put this game on. It was really smooth and first-class all the way through. The fans got a hell of a game to watch. We'll all tell these stories in 10 years or so. You'd like to end that story with, 'Oh, and we won.' But we can't do that. Hopefully we'll get another chance to play in a game like this and be able to say that.'
• The Blue Jackets were off on Sunday, a much-needed day to breathe. They'll get back to practice on Monday, then depart later in the day for Tampa Bay, where on Tuesday they begin a four-game road trip against the Lightning. The trade deadline arrives on Friday, the day after the Blue Jackets play in Florida against the defending Stanley Cup champions. After this trip, the Blue Jackets will finish with 11 of their final 18 games in Nationwide Arena.
• It's now safe for Blue Jackets fans to check the standings and the scoreboard on a daily basis. But don't just look down from the Blue Jackets' current spot in the first wild-card in the Eastern Conference. Look up, too.
Heading into Sunday's games, the Blue Jackets are just four points behind Carolina and New Jersey, the second- and third-place teams in the Metropolitan Division. Carolina hosts Calgary and New Jersey plays in Vegas on Sunday. On Dec. 18, the Blue Jackets were 12-15-5 (29 points) and trailed New Jersey by 16 points and Carolina by 12. Since then, the Jackets have gone 18-7-3.
• Trivia answer: Ray Whitney, aka 'The Wizard', had 42 power-play points (8-34-42) during the 2002-03 season, finishing tied for third in the NHL behind only Vancouver's Markus Naslund (54 points) and Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux (45).
(Top photo of Script Ohio at the Stadium Series: Jeff Dean / Getty Images)