Waivers, a goalie goal, and a first-round pick being assigned to the American Hockey League, This NHL Notebook has it all!
However, we’ll start with the Columbus Blue Jackets, with the team having a touching tribute to Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau in their home opener. Both Johnny and Matthew tragically passed away on Aug. 29. The Blue Jackets raised a banner in honour of Johnny before the game, but the tribute didn’t stop there. When the game started, the Jackets started without a left winger, as the two teams allowed 13 seconds to tick off the clock in honour of Johnny.
The puck was dropped on the @BlueJacketsNHL's home opener with a spot vacant on left wing and a 13-second pause in play in honor of Johnny Gaudreau. 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/nV5Uef7m7g
— NHL (@NHL) October 15, 2024
On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed it to open the show.
Yaremchuk: Let’s just right into Frank, the Columbus Blue Jackets honoring Johnny Gaudreau. His family was in attendance last night, and a tribute that was very touching, but at the same time, very heartbreaking as well. Not just to see the reactions from his family, but also the reaction from Gaudreau’s teammates, and his former teammates who were involved in the game. like Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk.Number 13 will fly forever inside Nationwide Arena. What’s your general thoughts on the ceremony that the Blue Jackets put together.Seravalli: Oh man, first off, it hit all the right notes. It was so beautifully done. Just, every part of it, from the banner to Johnny’s wife Meredith, and her message before the game to have fun, because that’s the way Johnny would want it. To the Florida Panthers, and there participation in this, to the opening puck drop.I think really what I’m struck with, you know, six weeks on from this unimaginable tragedy, is really just the strength of everyone invovled. To be there, to be part of it, to continue to honor John, and also Matthew. I can’t imagine what everyone’s dealing with there, and how incredible difficult that is to stand in front of 19,000 people, and you’re grieving at the same time. There grieving with you, and also the fans in Columbus, and everywhere around the league, how especially there, how they’ve wrapped the arms around the Gaudreau family and that organization and what they’ve done.The whole part of it, as you mentioned, was heartbreaking. I think what really grabbed me at the end, before they starting playing was, just looking at (Blue Jackets head coach) Dean Evason on the bench. Just tears streaming down his face, as he’s trying to choke them back. He didn’t coach this team last year, he’s a newcomer to all of this, and to be hit with all of that, first off it puts a lot of things in life into perspective, and also just full marks to everyone involved, because they really just hit all the right notes.
Rutger McGroarty assigned to the American Hockey League
Rutger McGroarty was in the news quite a bit this summer, as he requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets, eventually getting that trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins. This was in an attempt to get NHL minutes. Well, the Penguins sent him down to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday.
The Penguins have assigned forward Rutger McGroarty to the @WBSPenguins (AHL). pic.twitter.com/rP1YjqNLvS
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 16, 2024
McGroarty was selected 14th overall by the Jets in the 2022 draft, playing two seasons at the University of Michigan. In his first season, the winger scored 18 goals and 39 points but followed that up with 16 goals and 52 points in 36 games.
This past summer, he was traded to the Jets for fellow 14th overall pick, Brayden Yager, who the Penguins selected in 2024. In three National Hockey League games, McGroarty was held pointless with two shots on goal.
Filip Gustavsson scored the first goalie goal in Wild history
Netminders scoring a goal doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s great. On Wednesday, Filip Gustavsson became the 15th netminder in league history to pick up a goal, the 18th goalie goal in league history.
FILIP GUSTAVSSON GOALIE GOAL, THIS IS NOT A DRILL‼️ 🚨 pic.twitter.com/z05VMqtvnv
— ESPN (@espn) October 16, 2024
It’s your prototypical goalie goal, as Gustavsson got the puck with some time and decided to fire it down the ice into the empty net. After two goalie goals in the year 2013, it took seven years before it happened again, as Pekka Rinne scored on Jan. 9, 2020. Since then, Linus Ullmark (Feb. 25, 2023), Tristan Jarry (Nov. 30, 2023) and now Gustavsson have all scored in the past three seasons.
Brendan Lemieux and Dylan Gambrell placed on waivers
On Wednesday, it was reported that Brendan Lemieux and Dylan Gambrell were on the waiver wire.
Waivers today:
CAR: Brendan Lemieux
CBJ: Dylan Gambrellhttps://t.co/gjOvqdamBY
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) October 16, 2024
Starting with Lemieux, the 28-year-old was a second-round selection of the Buffalo Sabres in 2014. He made his National Hockey League debut in 2017-18 with the Winnipeg Jets in 2017-18, scoring a goal in nine games. He became somewhat of a regular the following, scoring nine goals and 11 points in 44 games.
Lemieux’s best season was in 2019-20, where he scored a career-high 18 points in 59 games with the New York Rangers, with 111 penalty minutes. His career-high in goals came with the Los Angeles Kings when he scored eight in 2021-22. Since then, he’s played for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2022-23, as well as the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023-24 when he scored three goals and five points in 32 games.
As for Gambrell, he was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the second-round of the 2016 draft. He spent four seasons in the National Hockey League with them, scoring a career-high five goals and 12 points in 49 games during the 2020-21 season. After, he spent two seasons with the Ottawa Senators, scoring four goals and 10 points in 2022-23, before spending a season with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League in 2023-24.
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