
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier was a guest on the Cam & Strick Podcast this past Monday and was asked about how close the Blue Jackets are.
Olivier, being the great interviewee that he is, gave a very honest answer about what he thinks of the team.
Cam & Strick asked him about the passing of Johnny Gaudreau and whether that brought the team together.
Q: “You guys have been through an awful lot of sh*t obviously in Columbus. Has that brought the team together?”
A: “Oh, yeah, I think so. You go through something like that, and I think the message from everyone in the organization—the players—was perfect, which was, ‘We're going to go through this as a team.’
"So, whenever the news dropped about Johnny and Matthew, everyone kind of came to the city as fast as they could and really got together so that we could, you know, process this together. And, you know, you get Sean Monahan, who's like best buddies with Johnny, and then he comes to the team in this kind of setup."
"He's been doing awesome with all that. Obviously, a hard time for him. But yeah, it definitely brings everyone closer. We already had a close group, but I mean, that, regardless, brings everyone so close. If you go through some stuff like that... I don't wish this on anyone."
Olivier's answer was exactly what you want to hear as a fan. In the face of tragedy, players got to Columbus as fast as possible to be with each other.
The closeness of the team has been something special. It has had a massive impact on the team this season. They are one of the biggest surprises of the season and are right in the race for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

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