Johnny Gaudreau needs to reintroduce himself in a big way in 2020-21.
There is no doubt that Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau, or “Johnny Hockey” as he has been affectionally dubbed throughout his career, is one of the most exciting and naturally-gifted talents in the National Hockey League.
Blessed with a dazzling array of skill, filthy mitts, blistering speed, a remarkable high hockey IQ and the ability to change the momentum of a game on a dime with a single slice of brilliance, Gaudreau is both the real deal and the total package.
He’s a dynamic and irresistible offensive force, in other words.
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He’s also somewhat of a trailblazer in that he was one of the first real young stars of the modern era to prove that size, power and brute force isn’t everything in today’s NHL, and that small, flashy forwards can prevail in such a brutal sport.
Having established himself as at least a 60 plus point scorer in each of his five seasons in the National Hockey League prior to 2019-20, Gaudreau is a true superstar although he perhaps doesn’t get as much buzz as he deserves.
Flying under the radar year in and year out despite consistently putting up big numbers and pulling off moments that defy gravity and leave our jaws on the floor, Gaudreau’s overall legacy is perhaps tainted by his lack of postseason success with just 30 Stanley Cup Playoff games and two series wins to show for his six full years in the league.
That miserable record in the Playoffs includes the best-of-five Play-In Round against the Winnipeg Jets last year, so you could argue that Calgary has only really won one true series and Gaudreau has become somewhat of a scapegoat for his team’s abject failure in the postseason due to his tendency to go cold and disappear during the most important time of the year with just 19 points (8 G, 11 A) in 30 games.
Combine that with what was a down year for Gaudreau in 2019-20 with 58 points in a shortened 70-game season (18 G, 40 A), then it is fair to suggest that “Johnny Hockey” needs to reintroduce himself in 2020-21.
Now, granted, 58 points in 70 games isn’t terrible but it wasn’t great, either, and the 27-year-old just wasn’t his usual magical self during the regular-season, often failing to have an impact on a game that a player of his caliber should, while constant trade rumors probably didn’t help his cause either.
However, there’s a couple of factors that will be on Gaudreau’s side once the puck finally drops on the 2020-21 NHL season.
Firstly, at 27-years-old, Gaudreau is about to truly hit his prime and, therefore, he should also reach the absolute peak of his powers very soon which is a scary proposition for the rest of the league.
As such, the left wing still has another level or two to reach and, if he can unlock that extra potential, then not only will he be capable of surpassing the career-high 99 points (36 G, 63 A) he put up as recently as the 2018-19 season, but he will then be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews once again.
Secondly, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has confirmed that there will be an all-Canadian Division for the 2020-21 season due to the ongoing border issues caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and both Gaudreau and the Calgary Flames could benefit from a change of scenery.
While they will have to deal with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, a loaded Toronto Maple Leafs team, a retooled Montreal Canadiens roster and the young, talent-laden core in Vancouver, the Flames should be one of the heavy hitters in an all-Canadian Division, especially now that they have a legitimate franchise goaltender in Jacob Markstrom who signed a six-year, $36 million contract in Free Agency.
Plus, with teams expected to play their Division rivals eight or nine times in a 54 or 56-game schedule in 2020-21, Gaudreau has a real opportunity to feast out on some bad bluelines in an all-Canadian Division (looking at you Toronto, Winnipeg and Ottawa) and remind everyone why he’s one of the most naturally-gifted talents in the game.
In other words, a shortened season in a new-look Division could present Gaudreau with a golden opportunity to put a rough year and a swathe of trade rumors behind him, bring the swagger back and carve out a return to the Johnny Gaudreau that can dominate highlight shows on a nightly basis.
An absolute magician with the puck on his stick and simply unbeatable when he’s in the mood, Johnny Gaudreau boasts all the ingredients needed to rapidly ascend into the pantheon of elite stars in the NHL today, and if he can figure out how to best slay his postseason demons then he will well and truly be unstoppable, while that would only translate to some long overdue Playoff success for the Calgary Flames.
Overall, after a year in which he lost some of his shine, the 2020-21 NHL season seems the perfect time for Johnny Gaudreau to reintroduce himself and prove why he’s long been considered a true star.