Jackets' Vincent benches Gaudreau in loss to Caps: 'I felt he wasn't there'

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent had some choice words for Johnny Gaudreau after making his highest-paid player ride the pine for the last 16 minutes of the team's 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

"I'm coaching a team and the guys that are going are going to play," Vincent said, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "Everything is earned, and when the game starts, it's not about your name, it's about what's in front of your jersey and who we believe are going to give us a chance to win.

"And we know Johnny can make a difference when he's skating and when he's involved, but tonight I felt he wasn't there. ... It doesn't matter who you are. It's about the Blue Jackets and I didn't like his game."

Gaudreau was benched with his team down one goal. He registered zero shots on net and was a minus-1 over a season-low 11:55 of ice time.

The 30-year-old has just one goal - an empty-netter - and five points in 11 games this season. He led the Jackets with 74 points (21 goals, 53 assists) in 80 contests last campaign.

Gaudreau is in the second season of a seven-year deal that carries a $9.75-million cap hit. He inked the pact in July 2022 while coming off a career-high 115 points with the Calgary Flames.

Vincent has a penchant for disciplining players when he doesn't think they're performing. He benched defenseman Damon Severson after a costly turnover in a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in October, while young forward Kent Johnson has sat as a healthy scratch for two games this season. Johnson saw just 8:45 of ice time Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and was assigned to the AHL the next day.

Columbus tabbed Vincent as its new head coach after Mike Babcock resigned in September.

Hoping to take a step this season, the Blue Jackets currently sit in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-5-2 record.