2023-05-19 11:00:00
MONTREAL – Frédérick Gaudreau is in no hurry to return to Quebec. Rest, cycling and hiking fill his daily life for the moment, three weeks following the elimination of the Minnesota Wild by the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs.
“For me, it’s nature, as much as possible,” he confided earlier this week to RDS.ca, promising to reconnect soon with the pleasures of the outdoors offered by Bromont, where he is from. , but also with the members of his family.
But not right now. Because in Minnesota, he is at home. More than ever.
The 30-year-old Quebecer recently put down roots in the state of 10,000 lakes by signing a five-year contract extension on April 13 that will earn him $10.5 million. The agreement, which includes a non-trade clause valid for 15 teams, will bring him an average annual salary of $2.1 million.
With a campaign during which he amassed 38 points, including 19 goals, a career high, Gaudreau might have monetized this performance at the opening of the next free agent market. Instead, he opted for continuity.
“When the time comes to negotiate contracts like that, you can always aim for more money, more money and even more money. But I don’t see it that way 100%. A contract is a question of energy much more than money. Yes, money is part of it and you want to be paid fairly, but for me it’s very much regarding the environment. »
In St. Paul, he found the perfect environment to thrive. “Teammates and a golden organization”, a spouse from the region, a city in which he is “the fun to play”, a club with a bright future and a staff that believes in it. Above all.
“Getting there, it was a no brainer “Summarizes the one who was still playing games in the American League with the Pittsburgh Penguins school club just over two years ago.
Never drafted into the NHL, the former Shawinigan Cataractes and Drummondville Voltigeurs first gravitated to the Nashville Predators organization, even finishing his first professional season in the ECHL. It wasn’t until 2016, at the age of 23, that he made his big league debut. But it was not won.
Back and forth in the minors and a move to Pennsylvania came one following another, before the Wild finally entered their lives at the dawn of the 2021-2022 campaign. During this one, he amassed 44 points in 76 games, his best harvest to date. Then, in the last year of his two-year, $2.4 million contract, the centerman shone with his versatility. Used in all ways, he notably led the team with four shorthanded goals and did better than anyone in the NHL with eight shootout goals.
“When you go pro, there can be a lot of people who don’t believe in you and who don’t give you a chance. I clung to my dream, I succeeded in silencing the voices in my head that said otherwise, and I remained faithful to the little voice buried deep inside me that believed in it.
“To get to that point (the signing of his new contract, editor’s note), it seems like it’s the first time that the people who offer me this contract see it 100% as I felt it. It feels good. »
Frederick Gaudreau
Dean Evason, the ally
Among those who believe in him at the Wild, there is first and foremost head coach Dean Evason, the first driver he worked with on his professional debut in 2014-2015. Evason, then boss behind the bench of the Admirals of Milwaukee, is the one who at the time announced to him that he was sold in the ECHL.
“We went through everything together. He saw my evolution from the beginning. »
In training with the Admirals, Evason was initially able to see Gaudreau’s potential, but he struggled to put it to use in a match situation.
“The first year pro, when I picked up in the East Coast, it was still a big moment, recalls Gaudreau. I had to be the best on that team, to then have a chance to move up in the American league. And then I had to be the best on that team too to have my chance in the NHL. It was a lot to take in at once. »
By setting a simple goal to achieve each day, improving a particular aspect of his game, for example, Gaudreau managed to refocus his concentration. “Instead of being scattered everywhere, I was in the present moment. »
This is how he “came up” in the American League and rubbed shoulders with Evason for the next three seasons with the Admirals, playing a total of 238 games under the latter before being held back by a another pitfall.
“Weirdly, it was my first full-time year in the National League in Nashville. I played between 5 and 8 minutes each evening. I had lost my confidence and the staff didn’t trust me either. Basically, I was embarking to give a break to the other players”, reasons the one who had then concluded the year with 3 goals and 1 assist in 55 games.
“The following year, I told myself that the most important thing for me was to regain my confidence. And that had to go through playing. No matter where, in any league. I didn’t care. »
Back in Milwaukee, he regained his confidence there. At the end of the campaign, the Penguins offered him a one-season chance. Then, on the recommendation of his head coach Dean Evason, the Wild signed him on the free agent market in the summer of 2021.
“When I arrived with the Wild, [Evason] had complete confidence in me. He appreciates my style of play and I appreciate his vision of hockey, his way of coaches », note Gaudreau.
“I enjoy the role I have here; be a player you can rely on to play anywhere. Whether it’s front row or fourth, center, wing, 5v4, 4v5, 3v3, shootout, or 4v4…I can play anywhere and I think that’s what they achieved. I really like having this versatile player card. THE fit, on both sides it is perfect. »
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