“We’ve got to finish in the red zone; that’s the main thing we can take away from that,” Daniels said. “Extremely frustrating. We moved the ball efficiently down the field and, not to say anything, but to go out there and leave points on the field, man, we work so hard to get down there — we want touchdowns.”

Instead, they got flags. Five false-start penalties stalled drives and provided a reminder that this transformed offense with Daniels, a revamped line and new coordinator Kliff Kingsbury still has work to do to get on the same page.

“Luckily, those are things that we can control, so we can get that corrected,” said running back Austin Ekeler, one of more than 30 new players on Washington’s 53-man roster. “We will definitely be emphasizing that going forward. It’s the details of going through practice and saying: ‘Hey, we’ve been through this. We can’t be doing this to ourselves, especially in the red zone.”

The Commanders, who are 1-1 going into a matchup at 0-2 Cincinnati next Monday night, reached the 20-yard line seven times Sunday against the New York Giants and could not crack the end zone. Rookie tight end Ben Sinnott false-started on fourth-and-1 on their opening possession; right guard Sam Cosmi moved early twice and left guard Nick Allegretti and left tackle Cornelius Lucas once each.

Allegretti, who started in two of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victories during his five seasons with Kansas City, said holdovers are usually able to provide tips on how a quarterback likes to do snap cadences at the line of scrimmage. That’s not a luxury this unit has.

“With such a new offensive line and a new quarterback, none of us have those prior experiences from the year before, so there’s a lot of stuff that we have to learn from,” Allegretti said.

New kicker Austin Seibert went 7 for 7 on field-goal attempts, the Giants lost kicker Graham Gano to injury on the opening kickoff and Washington won 21-18. But first-year coach Dan Quinn thought the penalties were the real story of the game.

“Those were things that we’ve got to be able to clean up,” Quinn said. “The combative ones, we’re going to continue to teach and go with. But pre- or post-snap, those are the ones that we’ve got to get out of our game, and so we’ll work hard to do that.”

What’s working: Finally, the kicking game. The Commanders signed Seibert last week to replace Cade York, who missed both of his field-goal attempts in a season-opening loss at Tampa Bay.

The 27-year-old Seibert, who has bounced around the league and spent training camp with the Jets, was good from 27, 45, 26, 27, 29, 33 and 30 yards out, the final one putting Washington ahead as the clock expired.

“To come in and make all of the field goals and to close the game out, just a special performance,” six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner said.

What needs help: The fundamentals of tackling, for one, even though the defense showed some improvement by forcing a turnover and not falling apart late. It might have been a different story if Daniel Jones and the Giants could have played for field goals.

“We still have to clean up our tackling, still got to clean up some of our execution, but wins are hard to come by in this league, so we’ll take it,” Wagner said. “We’re professionals. There’s no excuses. We’ve just got to be better.”

Stock up: Receiver Noah Brown joined the team on Aug. 29 after being cut by Houston and immediately began working with Daniels to get up to speed. After sitting out Week 1 against the Buccaneers, Brown caught three passes from Daniels for 56 yards and looks like he could be a significant contributor moving forward.

“That’s what I expected out of myself,” said Brown, who had 115 receptions for 1,547 yards and five touchdowns in his first six pro seasons with the Cowboys and Texans.

Stock down: Terry McLaurin will bust out for a big game soon, but for all the offseason talk of Washington’s top receiver being Daniels’ favorite option in the passing game, it has not played out that way so far. Daniels, through two games, has thrown only 12 times to McLaurin, who has a total of eight catches for 39 yards.

McLaurin has surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past four seasons.

Injuries: The Commanders are so healthy, it is making for some tough lineup decisions. Linebacker Jamin Davis, a first-round pick in 2021, and safety Darrick Forrest, who emerged as a key player under the previous regime, were healthy scratches because Clelin Ferrell and Quan Martin were able to play after being listed as questionable.

Key number: Daniels was sacked five times by the Giants, including a few times he tried to scramble to make a play, but lost yards.

Next steps: Players get some extra time off before their prime-time visit to Joe Burrow and the Bengals, who opened as 7 1/2 point favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook.

Up next

Washington (1-1) at Cincinnati (0-2), 8:15 p.m. Monday (WVEC)

When it mattered most, Daniels got the job done and picked up his first win as an NFL quarterback, beating the New York Giants 21-18 Sunday thanks to a franchise-record seven field goals from new kicker Austin Seibert at newly named Northwest Stadium.

“I feel blessed,” Daniels said. “Can’t really complain. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but a win is a win.”

Daniels engineered the go-ahead, 65-yard drive in the final minutes to get the ball into the red zone, setting up Seibert’s 30-yard field goal that won it as the clock expired. Seibert’s 7-for-7 performance came days after he replaced Cade York, who missed both of his attempts in the season opener.

“I guess that’s a great way to kind of welcome myself to the team and win a football game, so I’m happy with it,” said Seibert, who was good from 27, 45, 26, 27, 29, 33 and 30 yards. “No reason to make it bigger than it is. Just go out there and do what I do.”

The Commanders (1-1) came back to win an ugly game after the Giants lost kicker Graham Gano to an injury on the opening kickoff. Not having Gano prompted New York (0-2) to go for it on several fourth-down situations after punter Jamie Gillan missed an extra-point attempt early.

Gano, who said it was unrelated to the sore groin that landed him on the injury report, said his hamstring “doesn’t feel good.”

Daniels was 23 of 29 for 226 yards and rushed for 44 in his second professional start, beating former LSU teammate and fellow top-10 pick Malik Nabers in their first matchup in the league. Nabers was the Giants’ best player, with 10 catches for 127 yards and his first career TD reception.

“He did his thing, which I kind of expected, just knowing him,” Daniels said after swapping jerseys with Nabers. “He got my first-win jersey and I got his first 100-yard game. That’s going to mean a lot to both of us.”

Nabers was targeted 18 times by Daniel Jones, who after a rough Week 1 was a respectable 16 of 28 for 178 yards and two touchdown passes. Nabers dropped a fourth-down pass from Jones, which turned the ball over on downs.

“I’m disappointed,” Nabers said. “No matter how good of a game you can play, that last play came down to me. I’m hurt that I let those veterans down.”

The Commanders overcame going 0 for 6 in the red zone. They made seven trips inside the New York 25, but multiple false-start penalties derailed drives.

“You can’t have that,” left guard Nick Allegretti said. “But with such a new team, those things will happen. We’ve got to cut them down.”

Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. carried the ball 17 times for a career-high 133 yards. He also made the two longest runs of his pro career: 32 yards in the first half and 40 in the second.

“Great start for me so I can gain the momentum that I need,” Robinson said. “I’m thankful for the opportunities. It’s been a while since I got 17 (carries) in one game, too, so I appreciate all that love from my coaches, and I expect to keep building off of that.”

Ertz’s milestone: Washington’s Zach Ertz became the 12th tight end in NFL history to surpass 7,500 yards receiving. The 33-year-old veteran made four catches for 62 yards as one of Daniels’ most popular targets.

Injuries: Nabers was cleared after being checked for a concussion late in the first quarter following a big hit from Washington’s Frankie Luvu. … Giants cornerback Dru Phillips was also evaluated for a concussion and cleared late in the game.

Next

Giants: Visit Cleveland next Sunday.

Commanders: Visit Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 23.

It could not have gone much worse. He also could not have picked a better opponent to bounce back against.

Jones and the Giants visit the Commanders, also 0-1, with major questions on defense and a history of struggling against New York’s much-maligned quarterback. Jones has dominated Washington his entire NFL career, and Sunday is the next chance for “Danny Dimes” to get his mojo back.

“Everybody here is rallying around Daniel,” left guard Jon Runyan said. “He’s in there, he’s grinding. He’s in the weight room, and he’s going to get this thing right. I know it, and I think we all trust and believe that he will.”

Jones has beaten Washington, with three different team names, since getting drafted sixth in 2019. He’s 5-1-1 with 11 touchdowns (10 passing), three interceptions, 1,510 yards in the air and 324 more on the ground.

Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner brushed that off because he was not around for any of those games, and he is one of six new starters on defense. But that doesn’t mean he and his teammates are underestimating Jones after a brutal Week 1 performance.

“He does a really good job using his feet, creating plays,” Wagner said. “That’s what makes it hard. I think when he has time, he makes really good throws, and so our job is to not give him time. When you let him get some time and use his legs, he can be dangerous.”

Dan Quinn, who coached against Jones plenty as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator the past three years, said the 27-year-old’s ability to extend plays beyond the normal 2.3-second throwing window is also a factor.

“He’s got speed and athleticism,” Quinn said. “He remains a runner, where some QBs would go and get down or get out bounds. So he remains in that space and really has confidence in his running ability, which he should.”

The other QB

Washington rookie Jayden Daniels had a respectable NFL debut, completing 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards and rushing for 88 yards. Quinn would like to see Daniels cut down on the runs from 16 at Tampa Bay, but that — like a lot of things — will come with experience, and the No. 2 pick out of LSU has bought into his first few games being a learning experience.

“I could grow in every aspect of my game,” Daniels said. “You watch the tape (and realize) it’s never as good as you thought it was, it’s never as bad as you thought it was, so you just move on.”

Manageable situations

There was a reason the Giants scored a league-low six points in the season opener. They didn’t play well on first down and hurt their chances of maintaining drives by losing 39 yards because of penalties.

Three of their five first-half drives featured second- and third-down plays of more than 13 yards. The longest of their 11 first-down plays in the first half was 7 yards. Most were 4 or less.

There was some improvement in the second half, but by that time the Vikings led 28-6.

Forbes out

Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes is scheduled to have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the team had not announced the plan.

Forbes said Wednesday he initially planned to play Sunday.

Washington’s defensive problem

The Commanders got carved up by Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers in Week 1, allowing 392 yards and 37 points. That is not sustainable, and they know it.

“A lot of guys are feeling like we didn’t perform the way we wanted to perform,” Wagner said. “Just want to communicate better, want to be flying around, make more plays and just get off the field.”

Giants pressure

The question mark for the Giants’ defense has been its young secondary. New York lost safety Xavier McKinney to Green Bay in free agency and didn’t re-sign cornerback Adoree’ Jackson until just before the season opener. It left Jason Pinnock, Dane Belton and rookie Tyler Nubin at safety and Cor’Dale Flott, Deonte Banks and rookie Dru Phillips at cornerback.

The hope was the combination of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and edge rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns would pressure opposing quarterbacks and help the secondary. It didn’t happen against Minnesota, as Lawrence had the team’s only sack, Thibodeaux had a pressure and no tackles and Burns had four tackles and nothing else. They need to be better.

TODAY’S GAME

New York Giants (0-1) at Washington (0-1)

1 p.m. (WVBT)

BetMGM NFL odds: Commanders by 1½

Key matchup: Giants’ defense vs. the Commanders’ offensive line. Brian Burns and Thibodeaux were hardly difference-makers against Minnesota, and Washington is motivated to keep rookie QB Jayden Daniels upright and healthy. Daniels is expected to run less and stay in the pocket more, so there will be extra opportunities for New York to force the issue and more time for the offensive line to block.

Key injuries: Giants returner Gunner Olszewski is dealing with a groin injury. … WR Darius Slayton is in concussion protocol. … CB Nick McCloud and rookie LB Darius Muasau are day-to-day with knee injuries. … Commanders CB Emmanuel Forbes is expected to be out with with a thumb injury. … Commanders rookie DT Johnny Newton could make his NFL debut after missing Week 1 following offseason foot surgery.

“You don’t want to get hit by 300-pound-plus people,” he said Wednesday. “It’s like just an instinct. That clock in your head is like, ‘All right, it’s time to go.’ ”

Daniels ran the ball 16 times in his NFL debut, rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns in the Washington Commanders’ season-opening loss at Tampa Bay. The coaching staff would certainly like to see their rookie quarterback and new face of the franchise tone that down moving forward.

“We’d love to see him remain a passer first, and I think it’s going to come with more experience,” coach Dan Quinn said. “(Sixteen) carries is not the model that we’re looking for. … I do think we’ll continue to grow in that spot, but (it is) certainly not by design to have that many.”

Daniels, the No. 2 pick out of LSU after winning the Heisman Trophy last season, is one of the top prospects in the league largely because of what he can do with his legs along with his right arm. Still, his 16 carries matched Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson for the most of any quarterback in Week 1 and were more than Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts or Pittsburgh’s Justin Fields, who are not as new to the pros.

Retired QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, who ran 574 times during his playing career, expressed caution and compared the situation to Anthony Richardson injuring his right shoulder last year as a rookie with Indianapolis, leading to season-ending surgery.

“As we saw with Anthony Richardson last year, it’s exciting until it’s not, until there is an injury. And these are big boys out there in the NFL, so he’s going to have to learn how to manage that a little bit,” Fitzpatrick said on a video call. “They’re going to have to figure out the right balance because he is and has already shown he’s one of the top, probably, three or four runners at the quarterback position in the NFL, and it’s a big weapon and it causes a lot of problems for defenses.”

Quinn as a defensive coach said having a dual-threat quarterback “creates a headache — one that I am more than happy to be a part of creating.”

In the same vein, he wants Daniels — who completed 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards — to keep opponents guessing.

“Let a route develop or the option of checking it down to somebody else,” Quinn said. “The great thing about him is it is our first game, and he’s going to be an exceptional player. Are there choices, when to go, when to not? You do have to grow and learn into those, and I am 100% certain that he will.”

Fellow rookie Luke McCaffrey, now a wide receiver after converting from quarterback in college, trusts Daniels to know when to pass and when to run.

“At the end of the day, the quarterback always is the one that sees the field and knows it,” McCaffrey said. “There’s always a fine balance. I think it’s such a valuable weapon when you look at a quarterback, something that can help get an offense started, help spark it and help it be more efficient, too.”

Fitzgerald pointed to Jackson as a good example of a QB figuring out how to run often, but avoid significant contact and injuries.

Two-time All-Pro left tackle-turned-Amazon analyst Andrew Whitworth — who recalled yelling at Fitzgerald to get down when they were teammates — praised Daniels’ “special ability” with the caveat of not wanting him to get hurt as Richardson did.

“Seeing Jayden and knowing him, I think he’s going to be very similar to Lamar’s style,” Whitworth said. “We know they’re fast and athletic, the guys that like to do it a lot, but it’s really the art of, do they know how to avoid hits?”

Daniels and the Commanders host the New York Giants on Sunday in a matchup of 0-1 NFC East rivals.

Notes: Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes had his right thumb wrapped at practice after getting it banged up in the season opener, but the second-year pro said the plan is for him to play against the Giants. … Rookie DT Johnny Newton could play despite again not practicing Wednesday because of a foot injury.

Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored 37 points — the second most in the NFL in Week 1 — and racked up 392 yards. The pass rush created some early pressure, but sacked Mayfield only once, and the secondary struggled as a result.

“If you (have) a 50/50 contested ball and they go up and get it, that’s football,” coach Dan Quinn said on a video call with reporters Monday. “What I do want to see better from us is our pre- and post-snap communication, and there were a few instances where that wasn’t as strong as it needs to be.”

Six of the 11 defensive starters are new, but Quinn did not want to use the overhaul and lack of continuity as an excuse, noting that months of work have gone into preparing for this. A 37-20 season-opening loss was not what he and his staff had in mind over that time.

“Those are the moments that you do have to be in and fight through it because when you’re in it, in that moment and it doesn’t go your way, you stand taller, you fight stronger,” Quinn said. “Sometimes you have to go through the other end of that fire.”

A visit Sunday by the offensively challenged New York Giants is the next chance for the unit to show some improvement.

What’s working: Daniels was a respectable 17 of 24 for 184 passing yards in his pro debut, which got better after a wayward backward pass on Washington’s first offensive play turned into a loss of 15 yards. He did lead the team with 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Veteran offensive lineman Sam Cosmi credited Daniels for showing poise throughout.

“I grade myself hard,” Daniels said. “We didn’t win. I’m a competitor. I like to win, but overall it went well — pretty well.”

What needs help: The Commanders already are making a change at kicker, releasing Cade York after he missed his two field-goal attempts, wide right from 47 and 56 yards. They will not send a conditional seventh-round pick to Cleveland as part of the trade to get York from the Browns because he did not last at least two games.

“It’s certainly not ideal,” Quinn said. “But I think it does speak to (the idea of) if it’s not right, you don’t sit pat.”

Washington is signing kicker Austin Seibert to replace York, according to a person with knowledge of the move. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the deal.

Seibert, 27, spent training camp with the New York Jets. The Oklahoma product has made 45 of 56 field-goal attempts in the league since 2019 and becomes the sixth kicker on the Commanders’ roster since January after Joey Slye, Brandon McManus, Ramiz Ahmed, Riley Patterson and York.

Stock up: Running backs Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr. combined to catch seven passes for 101 yards. They were the team’s top two receivers.

“It makes you defend the whole field,” Quinn said. “The running backs in the passing game were two of the people that I thought stood out on a tough day.”

Stock down: Cornerback Benjamin St-Juste was on the wrong side of a couple of big Buccaneers catches. While some of that was due to Mike Evans being one of the best receivers in football, the Commanders expect better from St-Juste moving forward.

“That’s one of the things that I really do admire about him: the ability to self-correct,” Quinn said. “For all of us, that’s important, but as a ballplayer knowing what to do and how to fix something, that’s critical.”

Injuries: Quinn hopes to have rookie defensive tackle Johnny Newton available sooner than later. The second-round pick out of Illinois is working his way back from offseason foot surgery.

Key number: Tampa bay had nine third-down conversions on 13 attempts, a success rate of 69.2%. No defense was worse on third down in Week 1.

Next steps: The Commanders are 2 1/2-point favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook in their home opener, but thinking the Giants are beatable would be foolish even after New York got blown out 28-6 by Minnesota. Daniel Jones is 5-1-1 in his career against Washington with 11 touchdowns (10 passing) and just three interceptions.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The Washington Commanders said they have fired an employee after he was shown making derogatory comments about players and fans in undercover video posted on social media.

A team spokesperson said Thursday that vice president of content Rael Enteen had been terminated. Enteen was initially suspended pending an internal investigation after he said on video posted by O’Keefe Media Group that some players were dumb and homophobic and called fans “high school-educated alcoholics” and “mouth breathers.”

The team spokesperson said Wednesday after the post came to light, “The language used in the video runs counter to our values at the Commanders organization.”

James O’Keefe, who founded the company last year, told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday the videos were taken during two dates in June in Washington. O’Keefe said Enteen and the woman who filmed the interactions met on a dating app.

Also in the videos, Enteen criticized NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. He called Goodell “a $50 million puppet” and the league’s social justice efforts performative.

Enteen, who had been with the team since 2020, also said in the video that he believes Jones “hates gay people and Black people.”

A message sent to a league spokesperson Wednesday seeking comment had not been returned by Thursday. The Cowboys did not respond to a request for comment.

___

AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Daniels asked Dan Quinn if he could pull aside newly signed receiver Noah Brown and work with him after practice to get him up to speed quickly.

“That’s exactly what you’d hope to hear from a player: ‘Why would we wait till Monday when I can start on this today?’’ Quinn said. “Jayden has that mindset to him.”

It was the latest example of the Washington Commanders’ rookie face of the franchise looking the part as their starting quarterback ahead of his NFL debut Sept. 8 at Tampa Bay. The No. 2 pick out of LSU continues to show the maturity that made Quinn, the coaching staff and the rest of the origination feel ready to put him under center right away in Week 1.

Daniels is coming off winning the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player and is shouldering lofty hopes, but he is projecting realistic expectations.

“It’s not going to be a finished product Week 1, but just try to get better and go out there and go through some growing pains,” Daniels said Thursday. “You know you’re a rookie. You’re not going to have everything perfect. You can strive for perfection, but it’s not going to be perfect. It’s going to be ups and downs.”

Daniels is one of three rookie QBs set to open the season as the starter, along with Chicago’s Caleb Williams, taken first in the draft, and Denver’s Bo Nix, who went 12th. New England earlier Thursday selected Jacoby Brissett — who coincidentally was with Washington last season while seeing zero game action — the starter over No. 3 pick Drake Maye, while Michael Penix will back up Kirk Cousins after going eighth and Minnesota’s JJ McCarthy is out for the season with an injury.

“I’ll just go out there and just play ball,” Daniels said. “To be able to have the opportunity to go out there and play my first professional football game in the regular season, it’s going to mean a lot — not only for me for but my family.”

Quinn limited practice time this week and is giving players an extra long weekend off before beginning preparations for the Buccaneers. He wants his team, staff included, to get away from football and enjoy the Labor Day holiday.

Still, Daniels is already well-versed with who he’ll be going up against.

“A very sound defense,” Daniels said of Tampa Bay. “Obviously what Todd Bowles does over there and his track record as a defensive coordinator, everything speaks for itself. They got a very savvy veteran in Lavonte David controlling the defense. He knows what’s going to go on, so we’ve got to go out there and we’ve just got to execute.”

Daniels went into offseason workouts splitting first-team snaps with veteran Marcus Mariota, and it was clear when training camp started the rookie was in line to be the starter — Washington’s eighth different QB to open a season in as many years. Following two preseason games and plenty of practice time, Quinn selected Daniels as the starter.

Teammates have not seen anything different since.

“He kind of took control of the huddle week even with no pads on,” said rookie left tackle Brandon Coleman, who is also expected to start. “Then, when stuff got faster that second week, that guy, he never slowed down. I think these games and then also just the practices leading up just kind of helped him excel even more to where he’s at.

“I’m excited to see what he’s going to do next week.”

NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother were killed on the eve of their sister’s wedding when they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey, police said Friday.

New Jersey State Police said the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road in Oldmans Township on Thursday night when a man driving an SUV in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind about 8 p.m., less than a half-hour after sunset. They were pronounced dead at the scene some 35 miles south of Philadelphia.

Gaudreau, 31, and brother, Matt, 29, are Carneys Point, New Jersey, natives and were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding that was scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.

Police said the driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.

Higgins told a responding officer he had five or six beers prior to the crash and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint obtained by The Associated Press. He failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said, though his blood-alcohol level was not immediately available.

Higgins was jailed at a Salem County facility and will remain there until his pretrial detention hearing, which is scheduled for Sept. 5. A court spokesperson said Higgins at his first appearance Friday was represented by a public defender but indicated he planned to hire his own attorney. Public defenders in New Jersey do not comment on cases.

Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.

“Just devastating news for all of us connected with the Gaudreau family,” Jerry York, who coached the Gaudreau brothers at Boston College, said in a phone interview with the AP. “Both Matty and Johnny were terrifically admired by all of us. Wonderful young guys, and they impressed a lot of us off the ice.”

York raved about parents Guy and Jane and the family’s dedication to their children and hockey. Gaudreau had been married to his wife, Meredith, since 2021, and they have two children under 2, Noa, who was born in September 2022, and Johnny, who was born in February.

“We want to let everyone know we are receiving your messages of love and support, and we appreciated your continued thoughts and prayers,” an uncle, Jim Gaudreau, said in a statement on behalf of the families involved. “We ask for your continued respect and privacy during this very difficult period of grief.”

Fans laid flowers and hockey sticks for Gaudreau outside Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus and outside the Flames’ home rink in Calgary. Tributes reverberated near and far, with moments of silence in Cincinnati before a Major League Baseball game between the Reds and Milwaukee Brewers and prior to an Olympic qualifying hockey game between Slovakia and Hungary in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava.

The Blue Jackets said Gaudreau “was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend.”

“Johnny played the game with great joy which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice,” the team said in a statement. “He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played.”

Gaudreau’s death is the latest off-ice tragedy for the Blue Jackets. Goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died in July 2021 when he was struck in the chest by a firework while attending the wedding of then-Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace’s daughter in Michigan.

Gaudreau, at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, was part of a generation of hockey players who thrived in an era of speed and skill that made being undersized less of a disadvantage. Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy in 2017 for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of play, he scored 20-plus goals six times and was a 115-point player in 2021-22 as a first-time NHL All-Star when he had a career-best 40 goals and 75 assists.

“While Johnny’s infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname ‘Johnny Hockey,’ he was more than just a dazzling hockey player; he was a doting father and beloved husband, son, brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have crossed his path,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh said players and staff were devastated by these losses, calling Johnny “a beloved teammate and friend in both Calgary and Columbus (and) a joy to watch during his 10 years and 763 games in the NHL.”

A fourth-round pick by Calgary in 2011, Gaudreau had helped Boston College win the NCAA championship in 2012 and took home the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the country in 2014 — a season he and his brother played together for the Eagles.

Gaudreau was a nearly point-a-game player with 776 points in 805 regular-season and playoff games since breaking into the league. In 2022, he left the Flames to sign a big contract with the Blue Jackets that put him and his young family in central Ohio, closer to his family in New Jersey.

Social media was full of messages about Gaudreau, from USA Hockey to the Flames and beyond the sport itself. Former Flames teammate Blake Coleman posted that he was “completely gutted. The world just lost one of the best.” Retired goaltender Eddie Lack called Gaudreau one of his favorite teammates.

“Always happy, always spreading positivity around him,” Lack said. “Rest in Peace my friend and prayers for your wonderful family.”

NBA superstar LeBron James, who is from Akron, Ohio, said he instantly got sad after seeing the news.

“My thoughts and prayers goes out to the Gaudreau family,” James said. “May Johnny and Matthew fly high, guide/guard and bless their family/s from the heavens above.”

The tragedy comes as the Blue Jackets and other NHL teams prepare to open training camp for the season in about three weeks.

“We will miss him terribly and do everything that we can to support his family and each other through this tragedy,” the team said.

___

AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston, Associated Press writer Bruce Shipkowski and AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

The team announced an eight-year deal to rename the place that was known as FedEx Field from 1999 until several months ago. FedEx ended its naming-rights agreement in February, two years before it was set to expire, making it Commanders Field on a temporary basis.

This one is worth more on average than the $7.5 million annually FedEx paid for naming rights under the previous $205 million agreement, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because financial terms were not released.

“Northwest Federal Credit Union has been an integral part of this community for generations, and we could not be prouder to partner with an organization as committed to the DMV as we are,” managing owner Josh Harris said in a statement, referring to the Washington area that includes the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. “As we continue to work toward our goal of building the Commanders into an elite franchise that consistently competes for championships, we are excited to welcome our team and fans to Northwest Stadium and look forward to creating incredible memories together on the field and in the communities we serve.”

Washington’s first game at the newly renamed stadium will be Sept. 15 against the New York Giants. The deal with Northwest Federal Credit Union also puts the company’s logo on the team’s practice jerseys.

“Northwest is thrilled to continue building on the great work we have achieved alongside the Commanders,” said Jeff Bentley, president and CEO of Northwest Federal Credit Union, which is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, not far from the team’s practice facility in Ashburn. “This expanded partnership was an amazing alignment of our values to enrich the local community.”

Harris said Sunday before the preseason finale against New England he was hopeful Washington would have a new stadium by 2030.

“It’s a target,” Harris said. “A lot of it’s not within our control, so there’s no way to predict a specific date, but I think that’s a reasonable target.”

The current lease at the stadium in Landover, Maryland, runs through 2027, and the new naming-rights deal does not preclude the team from opening a new one before the deal’s completion in 2032. Places in D.C., Maryland and Virginia are still being considered, including the site of the old RFK Stadium, roughly 2 miles east of the U.S. Capitol that would take the team back to where it played games from 1961-96 before moving to Landover.

Returning to RFK is a popular option, but still requires a congressional bill to pass to return the land to the district. Harris does not expect anything on that front until after the election in November.

“We’re working super hard,” he said. “A lot of good stuff going on, and very positive, but not a lot to share.”

He is a six-time All-Pro selection, a Super Bowl champion and should be fitted for a gold Hall of Fame jacket when he retires. But because he is not ready for that step just yet, the veteran linebacker is embracing a very new challenge, leaving his comfort zone on the West Coast in Seattle to be a leader and mentor for the rebuilding Commanders.

“You just share your scars,” Wagner said. “A lot of things that you can’t learn from youth, you can learn from experience. So people that can give that knowledge and give that insight — things that I did my rookie year, my second year, third year — and try to have you avoid some of those mistakes. I think that’s probably the biggest thing.”

Even before playing a game in burgundy and gold, the coaching staff has noticed Wagner making an impact on teammates young and old alike. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the new face of the franchise after being taken with the second pick in the draft, is eager to pick Wagner’s brain, soak up some information and learn strong habits — and he is not alone in that desire.

“You just go to him to get some knowledge,” said defensive tackle Daron Payne, who’s going into his seventh NFL season. “Just a good vet guy that you can go to, talk to about anything.”

Coach Dan Quinn, whose first defensive coordinator job in the league came with the Seahawks in 2013, still remembers Wagner — then in just his second professional season — answering every question posed about what was being introduced.

Now, Quinn watches Wagner pull other players aside to point things out to discuss a type of coverage or concept and is proud of the 34-year-old’s evolution to this stage of his career.

“This is a rare competitor,” Quinn said. “When you look back on it, some of the people that mentored (him), now that’s a way to pay it forward. And so that’s one of the coolest parts of our game is when now you get to pass that along to the next one, and the very best players do that.”

Wagner learned from a young age from Seattle teammates Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman and took it a step further, talking to legendary linebackers such as Mike Singletary and Ray Lewis about how to command a unit. He believes he was blessed to have natural leaders around him and has tried to grow into that role.

“Those guys I had a chance to learn from, and when it was my opportunity, I try to take advantage of it,” Wagner said. “I think the middle linebacker position, always naturally you’re a leader because you call the plays, you have to relay the messages and you’re the one that tends to communicate the most in most cases.”

New general manager Adam Peters and Quinn did not sign Wagner to a contract worth up to $8.5 million to just be a teacher. He is expected to help transform Washington’s defense that ranked last among 32 teams last season as one of several new faces.

“It’s major, especially when you have a whole new defense,” defensive end Clelin Ferrell said. “It’s major having a leader like that, somebody who leads by example.”

That example is something fellow vets such as defensive tackle Jonathan Allen hopes is contagious, filtering down from Wagner to the rest of the roster.

“He just brings a winning presence, a winning culture the way he works every day,” Allen said. “And when you see a guy like that who I think is in year 13 — a first-ballot Hall of Famer — work as hard as he does, there’s really no excuse for anybody else.”