Van Riemsdyk says Blue Jackets try to honour memory of Gaudreau every day
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James van Riemsdyk had to be patient to find a team for the 2024-25 campaign.
The 6-foot-3 winger was coming off a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins and, unlike his other two trips to unrestricted free agency, he had to go beyond the first day of free agency to find out where he was going to play.
Van Riemsdyk waited right to the beginning of training camp, but found a home with the Columbus Blue Jackets on a one-year, $900,000 deal.
“I was obviously going through my options throughout the summer and had to be a little be more patient than years past,” van Riemsdyk told TSN’s First Up on Wednesday. “I’ve only heard great things [about Columbus] from guys who have played here, like Scott Hartnell, Jody Shelly, and Cam Atkinson. So, I couldn’t be more excited to be here with this group of guys and this team."
At 35 years old, van Riemsdyk prides himself on still being an effective player in the NHL. He recorded 11 goals and 38 points in 71 games with the Bruins last season and added a goal and five points in the playoffs before his team was eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the second round.
Van Riemsdyk says that there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes in order for him to keep playing at a high level and he continues to learn and improve.
“Over the years, you learn more and more – whether it’s about training, nutrition, recovery, and how you can continue to reinvent yourself while maximizing your abilities,” said van Riemsdyk. “I’m always kind of tinkering with things and evolving so I can still feel good.
“It comes with a lot of help form a lot of smart people that I’ve been lucky to cross paths with over the years. But it’s definitely something I enjoy, to figure out to feel my best to play at this level.
Entering his first season in Columbus, van Riemsdyk enters a Blue Jackets’ dressing room still reeling from the death of star winger Johnny Gaudreau on Aug. 29.
Van Riemsdyk, who played with Gaudreau at the 2019 World Championship, says while it’s something that the team thinks about every day, the focus is on playing the game in a way that will keep his memory alive.
“It’s something you can’t really make sense of or wrap your head around,” said van Riemsdyk. “Anyone who played with Johnny or met him knew the joy and passion that he had for hockey and life.
“We’re just honouring some of the memory, passion and joy, and making sure that we’re enjoying the process of playing hockey and doing something that we love.”