2023-24 Player Review: Johnny Gaudreau had no help

First, the good news: for the second season in a row since signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Johnny Gaudreau led the team in scoring. That’s what you want from your highest-paid player, right?

The bad news: Gaudreau’s 60 points were the lowest of his career in a full 82 game season. It was down 14 points from his first season in Columbus, and a far cry from his 115 point final season in Calgary. He managed just a single power play goal, despite never previously scoring fewer than 3 in a season.

There’s a little bit of bad luck at play. Gaudreau’s shot just 7.5%, another career low (his career average is 12.1%). His IPP (individual points percentage) at 5v5 was just 60%, meaning that of…