After posting 21-53--74 in 80 games in his first season as a Blue Jacket, left winger Johnny Gaudreau started the 2023-24 season off slowly, scoring just 4-11--15 in the first 30 games. That 0.5 point-per-game pace is 64.8% lower than his career average and even lower than what he's expected to produce as the Blue Jackets' highest-paid player after signing a seven-year, $9.75M deal in the 2022 offseason.
However, in the last month, he's posted 3-10--13 in 14 games, which leads the Blue Jackets over that span. With 28 points, he's also on pace to lead the team in scoring for a second consecutive season.
Gaudreau is an elite passer, as shown in the clip below, so maybe using only his point totals to judge his play isn't fair, since he relies on his teammates' scoring ability to get him points.
#CBJ Chinakhov (11) goal pic.twitter.com/UWG1kHA7kI
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 15, 2024
However, excluding the 56-game 2020-21 season and the 2013-14 season where he played one game, he's on pace for career lows in assists (39) and points (52) this season.
On the other hand, it looks like the Blue Jackets may have found something by putting him on a line with Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov, as they've been the team's best line over the last two games by a significant margin.
In the last two games, here at the 5v5 on-ice numbers for the Gaudreau- Sillinger-Chinakhov line (via @NatStatTrick):
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 15, 2024
TOI: 26:13
Goals: 1-1
Expected Goals: 2.49-1.08
Scoring Chances: 19-11
Shot Attempts: 38-20
Shots on Goal: 24-13
High-Danger Chances: 11-4https://t.co/VZPBmGuNeo
While he may never play like a $9.75M AAV player, Gaudreau's improved play over the last month has to have encouraged fans that he still is, at worst, a top-line player, and at best, an elite-level playmaker.
Hopefully, for the Blue Jackets, the first 30 games of this season were an outlier and the last 14 are a preview of what's to come for the next five and a half seasons.
Gaudreau will need to continue his improved play for the Blue Jackets to be competitive in the years to come. He certainly can do so, but will the production be there?
