Gaudreau's teammates jokingly boo him ahead of Flames return
Several hours before puck drop, former Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau has already received his first boos of the day at Scotiabank Saddledome.
As you’ve probably heard by now, Gaudreau’s Columbus Blue Jackets are in town tonight to take on the Flames.
It’s the first meeting in Calgary between the two teams since Gaudreau signed a massive seven-year contract in free agency last summer, leaving the only NHL franchise he had ever known.
And with the expectation from all parties — including the main character of the storyline himself — that Gaudreau will be receiving a chorus of boos tonight every time he’s touching the puck (or maybe even the ice), his Columbus teammates decided to have a little fun with it.
With video from Global’s Cami Kepke, the Jackets decided to jokingly boo Gaudreau every time he touched the puck at today’s morning skate at the Saddledome.
Little warmup for tonight? Johnny’s CBJ teammates are booing every time he touches the puck in pregame skate. Hilarious https://t.co/JpjEgzC9FV
— Cami Kepke (@CamiKepkeGlobal) January 23, 2023
“Talked about it a little bit on the bus, we probably should do it, get him warmed up for it. [Jackets coach Brad Larsen] came in the room and thought the same thing, so we went at him,” Jackets defenceman Gudbranson said.
“We may or may not have talked about that beforehand. I’m not going to confirm nor deny that,” Larsen added. “Your first one back is always the hardest no matter if it’s hostile, not hostile, whatever. You spend a lot of time in one organization, and they went through a lot of ups and downs through it too and he was through thick and thin with them, it always has special meaning no matter what.”
As for Gaudreau himself? He seemed to be taking it in stride.
“It was funny. Just to lighten the mood a little bit. It was fun. I could barely even stickhandle I was laughing so hard going up and down the ice,” he said.
And he appears to be okay with whatever comes his way from Calgary fans tonight.
“The bottom line is they want their team to win, they want the Flames to win and I’m on the other team so I get it. I understand,” Gaudreau added.
The Flames and Blue (Boo?) Jackets face off at 7:30 pm MT.
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