Gaudreau also had a hand in Monday’s final drill, known as the Johnny Skate. Since Evason has started training camp, at the end of practice, a player has a chance to shoot a puck the full length of the ice toward an open net to try to save the squad from conditioning laps.

The Blue Jackets are set to face the Florida Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions, at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Nationwide Arena. Usually, the Blue Jackets' first regular season home game would be preceded by a party and a player "blue carpet" walk, but the team rescheduled those events for Thursday's game.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets started a new tradition to honor Johnny Gaudreau. For years, a replica Civil War "kepi" hat would be awarded by the team to the player of the game after a Blue Jackets win. This year and possibly beyond, the team is ditching the kepi and opting for a donkey hat.