Columbus Blue Jackets Sign SEAN MONAHAN to Five-Year contract 🥳 | Free Agency Media Availability

first time you've played on a team outside Canada what Drew you to Columbus other than your uh friendship with Johnny GD I mean a lot of things I think uh I mean it's not just getting outside of Canada it's uh I weighed my options it's kind of my first time experiencing I guess free agency and going through it and having a child who's just over a month old I think uh family the family side of it was a huge aspect and uh Columbus was high on my list I mean with or without Johnny so it uh it worked out and uh my family and I are very excited go ahead Ian hey Sean this is Ian Phillips I was just wondering if you've had a chance to talk to Johnny GD yet yeah I mean I've talked to him a bunch he's uh one of my best friends my wife's great friends with his wife and uh yeah we're both excited I mean we get to play with each other again and uh it's something that I'm really looking forward to hey Sean this is Brian hedger with the Columbus Dispatch um wondering you know you're hearing you say that Columbus was you know right near the top regardless of whether uh you know gdo was here what what are some of the things I mean it was your family obviously but do do you look at the roster as well and uh you're kind of like how many young players and that kind of stuff uh they have here yeah no I think they got a really young group of uh some skilled players and also some obviously great veterans and Johnny being one of them a fantastic captain in Boon who I know um good Bron who I played with and I mean all I've heard is good things from I mean past and current players that uh that live there and I think uh I mean like I said the family thing was huge for me it's uh drivable for my family to get there it's uh it's in the East it's in the same time zone I mean there's there's so many uh I mean positives about the the place and I mean I've heard nothing but great things about raising your family in uh in the city of Columbus go ahead por hey Sean how much did last season mean to you after the struggles you went through with the hip and trying to be healthy to put together a full season and be as productive as you were back in your in your early years how good did that feel yeah no it was great I think uh I mean I went through obviously a bit of a grind there for two two and a half years where I mean it was partially on me where I was trying to play through injuries and just push through it and do that because I felt like the need to play was was so important but uh yeah I mean I'm fully recovered now um this this season was huge uh my confidence is back I feel back uh back to myself I know uh how good of a player I can be and I mean I know I can be a real important piece to to help the Blue Jackets turn this around you and Johnny had some great Seasons together in Calgary I think four years in a row you were one two in scoring is that like riding a bike do you guys just fall right back into it again I think so to be honest it's uh we had a lot of chemistry I know the way Johnny plays I know uh where he's going to be and where he'd want me to be and I know when he's passing the puck so it uh he someone that I can definitely read off of well and uh obviously a fantastic player so I mean looking forward to to sharing the ice with him again Dave hey Sean it's Dave metol from balet Sports Ohio welcome to Columbus and the Blue Jackets uh what what do you remember about your first what do you remember about your first NHL goal uh I mean it was it was in Columbus uh I think it was s barie through a uh rink wide pass over to Lee stepniak stepniak uh little pass off the pad off bosi and I mean I cleaned up the rebound so it uh obviously one I'll never forget and I'm looking uh looking forward to trying to score many goals in that rink again well yeah only this time it'll be with the cannon following it what are what are your thoughts on that yeah know I mean it scared me the first few times hearing that but uh you get used to it over the years I've played there quite a bit now and I mean I'm excited to to hear that go off more often than not go ahead Jeff Sean uh nice to meet you virtually here Jeff saoto with bluejackets.com and just wanted to ask you you're a guy that's wor a letter in the past on your sweater you're going to come in and have some young centers maybe you can mentor just how important is leadership and mentorship to someone uh like you yeah no I think it's huge I mean looking back when I was a young player and I mean you really lean on Veterans and I mean especially me as a center I leaned on older guys on the team in Calgary and you you take notes you watch the way they do things and you try and add that to your game so I mean it's important to to have good leadership in the dressing room it uh creates a good culture and I think I'm a guy that can can serve that purpose any more questions here before I uh take one or two from Zoom okay go ahead here go ahead Dave hey Sean it's Dave metel again just your thoughts on you're joining a team that right now does not have a head coach how much of a concern is that for you how much do you think about something like that before you sign with a new team yeah I know it's obviously different but uh I mean I chatted with Don today um I've chatted with a few other players on the team and I think uh that's potentially coming soon and um I mean talking with Don he's he's a competitive guy he wants this team to to be better right away and I mean you don't play sports to lose games so I think I think uh once we get uh a guy behind the bench here we'll get some some more information but uh I mean Don's guidance for for this team is is huge and that's also a big reason why uh why I joined Columbus okay we'll take a couple of questions from Zoom we'll go to Mike McIntyre in Winnipeg go ahead Mike hey Sean congrats on the new deal um just want to ask you about your time in Winnipeg uh just reflect on on obviously a very brief stin here and and was Winnipeg something um that you reconsidered resigning here and maybe how close did that come yeah for sure I mean I had a great time in Winnipeg I mean some great friendships uh it was a brief stin and yeah it was definitely something I was uh trying to decide on it uh it's not an easy decision and I think having a baby and and seeing how much family means to me at uh playing in the east just made a lot of sense for me to to be closer to home and um yeah I mean being in a city where it's I've heard nothing but great things to to raise your kids so it uh it's something I'm really looking forward to and obviously I had a real tough decision and I mean Winnipeg was a lot of fun there when I was there too thanks next we go to Mark shy with the hockey Riders go ahead Mark thank you hey Sean y Mark shy from the hockey Riders so the journey you had from Montreal till now you know you alluded earlier about the health situation so just what factors do you think led to you being able to play 83 games last season and be at a good place in your health yeah no I mean I I'm fully healthy now it uh I went through a lot where it was I was just kind of playing to play and I mean I was injured and I mean when you're doing that uh things add add up and I mean I've got everything taken care of now so I have a different routine and uh I mean I feel the best I've ever felt so it's uh I'm coming into this season I still don't think I've played my best hockey not even close and I mean my confidence is back uh I think for sure I'm in the best shape of my life I mean at 29 so it uh it's an exciting time for me right now