Freddy Gaudreau had family in town on Sunday night, so the Seattle Kraken forward didn’t make it over to the Minnesota Wild’s team hotel to see some old friends.
He figured he would be seeing enough of them on Monday night at the rink anyway.
Gaudreau, 32, is in his first season with the Kraken, and Monday night’s game was his first in his new uniform versus his former team. He had spent the previous four years with the Wild, playing all 88 regular season and playoff games for Minnesota last season.
“A lot of people I love over there, and a lot of really good memories. That never changes,” Gaudreau said following the Kraken’s morning skate. “But it’s just another game and my only focus is on my job and what I can do to help my team win.”
He was traded to Seattle in late June and entered Monday’s game having played in 13 contests with the Kraken, posting a goal and two assists. He missed the second half of October and the first half of November due to a stint on injured reserve, dealing with an upper body injury. Injuries were a rarity for Gaudreau in Minnesota, where he was a regular season iron man in two of his four years with the Wild.
“First-class human being. He’s a great, great kid, great teammate, was awesome to coach, very smart player, cares about the team,” Wild coach John Hynes told reporters in Seattle following the team’s morning skate at Climate Pledge Arena. “Kind of a jack-of-all-trades, he did so much for us. He could play wing, center, power play, penalty kill. Great person and a really good player.”
Having spent so much time in Minnesota, Gaudreau offered a Wild scouting report without revealing many secrets. It was already fairly well-known that stopping Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello is a key to success for Wild foes.
“When they’re on the ice, you’ve got to make sure you’re D-side,” said Gaudreau, who originally signed a free agent contract with the Wild in the summer of 2021. “They’ve got some good chemistry too. They know where the other guys are. It kind of feels especially like Zuccy and Kirill know where the other guy is. You can’t take a moment to zone out. You always have to be dialed in and focused.”
Known as one of the truly nice guys on the roster during his time in Minnesota, Gaudreau had nothing but good things to say about his former employer.
“They’ve got some superpower, for sure They’ve got some guys you’ve got to make sure you know when they’re on the ice,” he said. “They’re a strong team. They’re deep. Good goaltending, those games are always good matchups. We have to get ready for 60 (minutes) for sure.”
The Wild entered Monday’s game with a 5-1-0 all-time record versus the Kraken in Seattle.
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