Larsen on Blue Jackets adding Gaudreau: 'He's not the saviour'

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen is excited to have Johnny Gaudreau on his roster, but he also appears cautious of putting too much pressure on the team`s prize free agent.

Larsen told The Athletic that while he expects to see his team take a step forward after missing the playoffs last season, it will take the full roster to do so.

"We’ve always had internal expectations, and I’ll say this again: the goal is always to make the playoffs," Larsen said in an interview published Monday. "I’m a realist, though. [Last season] We were very … green, let’s put it that way, especially on defence. I think seven of our guys had played under 100 NHL games when we started. There’s only one way to gain experience, right? We knew we’d have potential issues. We had an 18-year-old centreman [Cole Sillinger]. There were a lot of question marks.

"Going into this year, you want to see internal growth. You sign a player like Johnny Gaudreau, that’s a massive signing. But I’ve said it a bunch of times already: He’s not the saviour. Johnny’s wearing one jersey. We’re certainly excited to have him, but we’re looking to take another step and build on the standard, be a team that grows into something special. The players will dictate that. Expectations are raised, no question about that.

"We want to be better than we were last season. It was a great year of growth, but we were still a game below .500. That’s not where we want to be."

Gaudreau signed a seven-year, $68.25 million contract carrying a cap hit of $9.75 million with the Blue Jackets in July after career-best season with the Calgary Flames. He posted 40 goals and 115 points in 82 games while playing out the final year of his contract.

While Larsen won't dub Gaudreau 'the saviour,' he does expect the 28-year-old to boost the play of those around him this season.

"I can tell you there’s major excitement. He’s a unique player, especially playing on the wing. He’s on an elite level. We had [Artemi] Panarin here and we watched him for two years. His ability to make the other four guys on the ice with him better — not just the two forwards with him — is really special. He’s going to make other people better, and that’s rare.

"He’s one of the one-percenters in this league. He had a career year, but he didn’t come out of nowhere. He’s been doing it for a long time. Maybe the stars aligned last season as far as his production, and he may drop off with us in terms of his production but still make that big of an impact because he elevates everybody else. That’s what’s exciting to me about him."

The Blue Jackets have missed the postseason in each of the past two years after reaching the playoffs in each of the previous four seasons. The team finished 37-38-7 last season, Larsen's first as an NHL head coach.