BC's Gaudreau Leaves Calgary for Columbus

The NHL free agency period has begun—and the Columbus Blue Jackets have already landed the largest prize.

After eight full seasons with the Calgary Flames, who drafted him 104th overall in 2011, left wing Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) has left Alberta for Ohio, after signing a seven-year, $68.2 million deal with the Blue Jackets.

Gaudreau, 28, who turned pro in 2014 after three years at BC, has tallied 210 goals and 399 assists for 609 points in 602 NHL regular-season appearances, all with Calgary. He notched 40-75—l15 points in 82 outings in 2021-22, setting new career highs in each category as he finished second in the league in total points, and in addition led all NHL players with a plus-64 plus-minus rating. He has also recorded 11-22—33 points in 42 Stanley Cup Playoff contests, including 3-11—l4 points in 12 games this spring in leading the Flames to the second round. The 2016 Lady Byng Trophy winner as the NHL's most gentlemanly player that season, he also scored the overtime winner in Game 7 against the Dallas Stars in the first round this year, Calgary's first true playoff series win since 2015.

Gaudreau, from Salem, N.J., joined BC after registering 36 goals and 71 points in 60 games with Dubuque (USHL) in 2010-11. Originally committed to Northeastern University, he switched to BC and registered 78-97—l75 points in three seasons with the Eagles, and won a national championship with them as a freshman in 2012. He recorded 36-44—80 points as a junior in 2013-14, winning the Hobey Baker Memorial Award that season as the NCAA's top player while also helping BC to the Frozen Four in Philadelphia before turning pro shortly afterwards with Calgary.

Gaudreau has also suited up for the United States in several international competitions, helping the U.S. to the gold medal at the 2013 World Junior Championship, and to bronze at the 2018 IIHF World Championship. He also won silver at the 2012 Under-18 Championship.

A full updated list of 2022 NHL free agent signings is available here.

Gaudreau Lifts Flames over Oettinger, Stars in OT

In the end, it was Boston College beating Boston University.

Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) sent the Calgary Flames to the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs when his shot from a sharp angle beat Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (Boston University) just over 15 minutes into overtime in Game 7 on Sunday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The goal gave the Flames a 3-2 win in the contest, and a four games-to-three victory in the series.

Gaudreau, 28, who also set up the tying goal for Calgary in regulation, finished with two goals and six assists for eight points in the series. Oettinger, 23, made 60 saves in the seventh-game defeat, and finished with 272 saves on 285 shots against in the series, while also notching one shutout.

Gaudreau helped BC to the 2012 NCAA title as a freshman, and then won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award two years later with the Eagles as the top player in men's Division I college hockey. Oettinger won 58 games over three seasons (2017-2019) at BU, and also helped the Terriers to two NCAA tournament berths.

Calgary will now take on the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL's first postseason "Battle of Alberta" since 1991.

Former ECAC Players Sign with NHL Teams

A pair of former Eastern College Athletic Conference hockey players inked NHL contracts this week, one of them a heralded rookie and the other a young veteran.

Union College forward Spencer Foo signed as a free agent with the Calgary Flames after spending the last three seasons in Schenectady. According to the Flames website, the contract will be finalized and made official on July 1. Foo, 23, tallied career highs of 26 goals and 36 assists for 62 points in 38 games this past year, while leading the Dutchmen to both the ECAC regular-season crown and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2014.

The Edmonton native tied with teammate Mike Vecchione for the ECAC scoring lead, with 44 points in 25 conference games, and likewise was a fellow Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist. In 113 career outings at Union, Foo registered 49-63—112 points.

Former Princeton University netminder Mike Condon re-upped with the Ottawa Senators after spending most of last season in Canada’s capital. According to NHL.com, the deal is for $7.2 million for three years. The Holliston, Mass. native, who began last season with Pittsburgh before being traded to Ottawa in November, finished 19-14-6 in 40 games with the Senators. He also recorded a 2.50 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage to go with a career-high five shutouts.

In 96 career NHL games with Montreal, Pittsburgh and Ottawa, Condon, 27, has fashioned a 40-39-12 record with six shutouts. He went 18-22-8 with three shutouts in 53 NCAA appearances at Princeton from 2009 and 2013.

Providence's Gillies Signs with Flames

Jon Gillies went out on top in the college game. Now he’ll try his hand in the NHL starting next season.

The Providence College junior goaltender, who backstopped the Friars to their first-ever national championship this season, has apparently signed with the Calgary Flames, who drafted him in the third round (75th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, according to the Calgary Sun.

Gillies made 49 saves in Providence’s 4-3 NCAA title game victory over Hockey East rival Boston University at TD Garden in Boston on April 11. It was the first national title game the Friars had appeared in since 1985, when they fell to Rensselaer in Detroit. Gillies had earlier guided the Friars to NCAA Tournament wins this spring over Miami (Ohio), Denver and (Nebraska) Omaha, and was ultimately named the NCAA’s Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player following the championship game win over BU.

A three-year starter at Providence, Gillies had originally committed to Northeastern University while playing for the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League. He compiled a record of 46-17-11 with six shutouts in two junior ‘A’ seasons with the Ice, according to hockeydb.com.

A 6-foot-5, 215-pound native of South Portland, Maine, Gillies, 21, spent the last three seasons backstopping the Friars, with whom he went 24-13-2 with a 2.01 goals-against average and .930 save percentage and five shutouts in 39 appearances. He finished in the top 10 in the nation in both GAA and save percentage this year, according to USCHO.com, and completed his college career with a 60-34-13 record in 108 outings (2.01, .938, 15 SO).

Gaudreau Hat Trick Gets Flames First Win Since Dec. 4

Former Boston College sniper and 2014 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Johnny Gaudreau put on quite a show last night in Hollywood.

Gaudreau's first career NHL hat trick, including two goals in the last three minutes of play, pulled his visiting Calgary Flames into a tie with the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings before the visitors won it in overtime, 4-3.

Gaudreau, 21, now has 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points in 36 games with Calgary this season. He got the Flames on the board late in the second period with a power-play tally, pulled them within one on a wraparound attempt with 2:12 remaining in regulation, and then tied the game on a deflected backhand shot with 59 seconds left as Calgary went on to snap an eight-game winless string (0-7-1) before breaking for Christmas.

All of Gaudreau's goals last night can be seen here.

Gaudreau made his NHL debut in the Flames' 2013-14 regular season finale, scoring a goal at Vancouver. A native of Carney's Point, N.J., he tallied 36 goals and 44 assists for 80 points with B.C. last winter, the third-highest single-season output in school history, in helping the Eagles to an NCAA Frozen Four berth.

He posted 78-97--175 points in three seasons at the Heights, while assisting B.C. to three Beanpot Tournament titles, two Hockey East regular-season crowns, and the 2012 NCAA national championship.

Gaudreau-bey Baker

 

Was there ever really any doubt?

After months of speculation/anticipation, Johnny Gaudreau became the third Boston College Eagle ever to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I hockey when his selection was announced today in Philadelphia. The junior forward from Carneys Point, N.J. joins David Emma (1991) and Mike Mottau (2000) in the pantheon of BC Hobey Baker Award winners.

Gaudreau, 20, who had a goal and two assists in Thursday’s 5-4 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal loss to Union College at the Wells Fargo Center, finished the season with a nation-leading 36 goals and 44 assists for 80 points in 40 games. The other Hobey Hat Trick finalists this year were senior forwards Greg Carey of St. Lawrence and Nic Dowd of St. Cloud State. Gaudreau was also a Hobey Hat Trick finalist a year ago, when the award when to St. Cloud State's Drew Leblanc.

Through three seasons with BC, the 5-foot-7, 150-pound Gaudreau compiled 78-98—176 points in 119 contests. He collected 21 power-play goals and 18 game-winners, and also scored a spectacular goal as a freshman two years ago to ice the Eagles’ 4-1 win over Ferris State in the 2012 NCAA championship game in Tampa, Fla.

Gaudreau won a host of other accolades this season, including the Walter Brown Award as the top American-born player in college hockey, and was also recently named a First Team All-America selection. He helped BC to three Beanpot Tournament championships, two Hockey East Association regular season championships, and a Hockey East tournament title to go along with a national title. A two-time Hockey East Player of the year, he also tied a league record this season when he fashioned a 31-game point streak.

Gaudreau became the first Eagle since Emma (81 points) in 1990-91 to record at least 80 points in a single season, and the third 80-point scorer in BC annals along with Craig Janney (83 points in 1986-87). “Johnny Hockey” also needed just 54 points next season to top Emma’s 239 career points and become BC’s all-time leading scorer.

Unfortunately, there won't be a next season for him in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

USCHO.com reported that besides winning the Hobey Baker Award today, Gaudreau also signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2011 after he had helped Dubuque (USHL) to a Clark Cup crown.

According to the Calgary Flames web site, Gaudreau's two-way contract  will commence immediately with an annual NHL base salary of $832,500, a signing bonus of $92,500 each year, and an average annual value of $1.85 million including performance bonuses .

He will join BC linemate Bill Arnold, a senior forward who also played his last career college game against Union, and who just signed with Calgary. The pair will make their NHL debuts this Sunday in Vancouver as the Flames close out their 2013-14 campaign, with Gaudreau wearing No. 53 and Arnold No. 46.

As a fan, I'm disappointed to see Gaudreau pass up his senior year at BC, as he is a tremendously talented player. As an alumnus and a New Jersey native, I can say unequivocally that he did both the alma mater and the Garden state proud. 

So long, Gaudreau-bey Baker—and thanks.

NCAA Players on the Move, NHL-Wise

The NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is about to commence, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs are still over a month away—but three college players with National Hockey League ties were recently on the move, at least in the transactions section.

Yale junior forward Kenny Agostino and St. Cloud senior forward Ben Hanowski, a pair of Pittsburgh Penguins draft choices, were both included in the deal that sent longtime Calgary Flames star Jarome Iginla to the Steel City. Also going to Calgary in the deal was Pittsburgh's 2013 first-round draft choice.

Agostino leads Yale with 15 goals, and also has 22 assists for 37 points this season. The Flanders, NJ native has collected 40-56—96 points in 97 career games with the Bulldogs, who play Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA West Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Friday.

Hanowksi, who was tabbed 63rd overall by the Penguins in 2009, has 16-13—29 totals this season for the Huskies, who face Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional in Toledo on Saturday. In 153 career games, the Little Falls, Minn. native has registered 66-50—116 points in 153 appearances.

Elsewhere, Michigan junior defenseman Jon Merrill decided to skip his senior season in Ann Arbor and signed an amateur tryout contract with the New Jersey Devils organization, which drafted him 38th overall in 2010. Merrill, from Brighton, Mich., tallied 11-36--47 points in 82 career outings with the Wolverines, who just fell short of a 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. He will be assigned to Albany (AHL).