Johnny Gaudreau has made his choice and it is so unexpected!

It all started on Tuesday night when Johnny Gaudreau informed the Calgary Flames that he’ll be testing the free agent market on Wednesday.

The star forward wanted to head back home and got his dream to come true. On Wednesday, Gaudreau signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets pending league approval. 

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was the first one with the news, though the precise annual average value came later, confirmed by Chris Johnston at $9.75M AAV.

Later on Wednesday evening, the Jackets made it official: 

On Tuesday, the Flames did offer Gaudreau an eight yea contract which would make him the highest paid player in franchise history. Pierre LeBrun confirms as he now signs in Columbus that the Flames' offer was "was 8 years x $10.5 M AAV." It was believed he would be heading to the New Jersey Devils: Gaudreau owns a home on the Jersey Shore, and his wife and his family have ties to the region, so he seems like a natural fit for the Devils, who would do anything to get a player like him for a quick rebuild.

However, the Jackets became an option into the first day of free agency as GM Jarmo Kekalainen was looking to make a splash. There was a rumour that the Blue Jackets are hoping to entice Gaudreau with “an absolute whopper: 7 years x $12 million", but it looks to be a little less than that. 

As Frank Seravalli points out: "Gaudreau left somewhere between $15-17.5 million on the table in Calgary by choosing Columbus, depending on final total.

Not sure anyone saw that coming."

It is also believed that the Devils offered Gaudreau north of $10 million AAV on a seven-year deal and he chose to go to Columbus.

Per team insider in Columbus Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, the Jackets “say signing of Johnny Gaudreau does not preclude them from signing Patrik Laine, who is currently an RFA. They can keep them both, but other moves are now necessary.” 

Gaudreau is coming off his most productive season, putting up career-high numbers in 2021-22, scoring 40 goals and 75 assists while posting a league-best plus-64 rating and tallying nine game-winning goals. He also got 14 points during a 12-game playoff run for Calgary.