The Columbus Blue Jackets turned the hockey world upside down on July 13th, signing Johnny Gaudreau to a 7-year contract worth $9,700,000 per year after the star turned down an offer that would've kept him with the Calgary Flames. However, before Gaudreau came through for Columbus, they had their eye on this free agent.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, before signing Gaudreau and shocking the hockey world, they had their eye on newly minted Stanley Cup Champion Nazem Kadri. The Blue Jackets even made a contract offer to Nazem Kadri, at least that is until Gaudreau came to Columbus on his own and inquired about signing with them.
This is very interesting because of the contrast between the two players. Both Gaudreau and Kadri are very skilled forwards who have the ability to break a game wide open at any point, but the two are also polar opposites at the same time. Although Kadri is a very gifted offensive player coming off of his best in the NHL, he would've added some snarl to the Blue Jackets lineup. Gaudreau, on the other hand, is one of the most skilled offensive players in the league who shone in a Flames uniform before hitting the open market, putting up a staggering 115 points the season before his contract was about to expire, 2nd behind Joe Sakic before departing their teams in free agency.
If Kadri had gone to Columbus, the entire outlook of the team would've been entirely different, much harder to play against while still being more offensive and a threat anytime the top 6 was on the ice.
