It was Sean Monahan who scored the Blue Jackets’ second goal on Tuesday night, and as soon as the lamp was lit, Monahan — who was close with Gaudreau — pointed right to the banner that was put up at Nationwide Arena to honor Johnny.
What a moment. It was so sad, but it was a beautiful tribute:
In the wake of star left winger Johnny Gaudreau’s tragic death in August, Tuesday was going to be an unbelievably difficult day for the Columbus Blue Jackets players, staff and fans.
Both the Blue Jackets and Panthers approached the night — the Blue Jackets’ home opener — with class.
After both teams warmed up in Gaudreau’s No. 13 jersey, the Blue Jackets made sure to honor Gaudreau’s memory by taking the ice for the opening faceoff without a left winger. When the puck was dropped, neither team played. Instead, they let 13 seconds tick off the clock to pay tribute to Gaudreau’s number.
This was the scene at Nationwide Arena:
The Blue Jackets came out to take the opening draw with no left winger in honor of Johnny Gaudreau#CBJpic.twitter.com/spGFHKIkq0
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) October 15, 2024
There wasn’t a dry eye in the building after that.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers made a heartwarming tribute to Johnny Gaudreau on Tuesday.
The 2024-25 NHL season has officially started in Columbus, with Tuesday being the Blue Jackets’ home opener in front of their fans. And, as expected, the tributes for Gaudreau and his brother Matthew — who were killed in a tragic accident that shouldn’t have happened in August — poured in throughout the evening.
Perhaps the most touching moment of all came before Tuesday’s game started, as both the Blue Jackets and Panthers stepped out onto the ice for pregame warmups in No. 13 jerseys, a tribute to the number worn by Gaudreau throughout his career.
Tonight during warmups, both teams will honor Johnny by wearing his jersey ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/WQtaJ34Cr8
The Seattle Kraken held a beautiful moment of silence to honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau ahead of their season opener.
On Tuesday, the NHL kicked off its regular season in North America with a slate of three games throughout the day. Ahead of the Kraken’s home opener against the St. Louis Blues, the team held a 13-second moment of silence to honor the Gaudreaus after the pair were tragically killed in a car accident that should never have happened the night before their sister’s wedding in August.
Before the start of the NHL regular season in Europe over the weekend, the league released a wonderful tribute video to honor the two brothers who meant so much to the hockey world. And on Tuesday, the Kraken continued the memorial with a 13-second moment of silence, in honor of Johnny Gaudreau’s number he wore.
The Kraken held a 13 second moment of silence for Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau prior to their home opener ❤️ pic.twitter.com/FmCF0uPlpS
According to a Team USA hockey press release, NHL players who are part of the U.S. National Team will wear a special “Gaudreau” helmet decal with both of the brothers’ jersey numbers and dueling hockey sticks this season.
Here is USA Hockey’s executive director Pat Kelleher on the move:
“Johnny and Matthew [Gaudreau], along with their families, will forever be a part of the USA Hockey family. This is a small way to not only honor their memory, but help keep their wonderful spirit for our great game and life in general in the forefront.”
Not only that, the NHL will also have their own decal honoring the Gaudreau brothers through October 24.
Every team will be wearing this decal honoring the Gaudreau brothers on the back of their helmets from opening night through 10/24. The Sabres and Devils are the first. The Sabres got them today. pic.twitter.com/MTKdVo7NYw
To open the NHL Global Series in Europe on Friday, the league paid its respects to the Gaudreau brothers. The NHL put together what is likely the first of many tribute videos to the brothers that we’ll see this season and played it ahead of the game. There was also a 13-second moment of silence to go along with it. Johnny’s number was 13.
A tribute to Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau was played and a 13 second moment of silence was observed before today's Global Series game in honor of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau ❤️ pic.twitter.com/76xC7J16I8
The Gaudreau family shared a statement on Friday about the brothers, but it was Johnny’s wife Meredith who posted a pair of Instagram messages to her late husband, one about the star forward as a husband and the other about what he was like as a father.
We’re sending our deepest condolences out to the whole Gaudreau family after this tragedy.
Jim Gaudreau, the uncle for both Gaudreaus, released a statement on behalf of the family that’s just heartbreaking.
“Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, two brothers, two sons and brothers in law, two nephews, two cousins, two family members, two teammates, two friends, but truly two amazing humans,” it said.
It went on to say that they had received “messages of love” and that they were appreciative.
Hockey is a very tight-knit community, and Notre Dame is part of that community. So when tragedy strikes it, the Irish feel the rightful need to know that they’re mourning as much as those the tragedy directly impacts. Unfortunately, that time has come once again.
The Gaudreau brothers’ time at Boston College spanned from 2011 to 2017. The Irish went 7-6 against the Eagles during that time with most games coming when the Irish were a member of Hockey East. But the Eagles went to three Frozen Fours and won the 2012 national championship. Johnny Gaudreau also won the Hobey Baker Award to cap his collegiate career in 2014.
We at Fighting Irish Wire extended our deepest condolences to the Gaudreau family during this difficult time.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
There’s not a single detail in the Johnny Gaudreau story that doesn’t just rip your heart right out of your chest and snatch it in two.
Gaudreau was a beloved hockey player. He’d already made his mark in the NHL as one of the league’s premier players and was only just getting started with the Blue Jackets. His brother, Matthew, 29, was a minor league hockey player, too.
That news alone is incredibly sad. But, with every detail, the story gets worse.
They weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary. The brothers Gaudreau were reportedly out for a simple late-night bike ride when they were both struck by a seemingly impatient driver who tried to force their way around another vehicle, according to reporting from ESPN.
We’ve learned the two New Jersey natives had a day ahead of them. The Gaudreau brothers were scheduled to be groomsmen at their sister’s wedding in Philadelphia on Friday.
Here’s the worst part: The driver of the vehicle that struck the Gaudreaus was allegedly arrested and charged with two counts of driving under the influence and death by auto, as announced by ESPN’s Mike Greenberg.
Not only did this not have to happen, but it shouldn’t have happened.
Driving under the influence doesn’t just ruin the driver’s life. It doesn’t just end the lives of the victims. It rips families to shreds.
The Gaudreau brothers should be waking up this morning with joy in their hearts. They should be heading to Philly to play their part in the best day of their sister’s life. They should be tying each other’s ties and fixing each other’s collars, making sure that they’re sharp enough for pictures with the family later. Later tonight, they were going to dance until they couldn’t anymore at the wedding reception.
They won’t get to do that now. Instead, their family gets to think about planning two funerals on their sister’s wedding day.
All because someone allegedly decided they were OK to drive last night when they probably knew they shouldn’t have. Calling a rideshare would’ve saved two lives last night. Thousands more lives have been lost to the same story.
There’s not much to say here, man. Don’t drive under the influence. It’s not cool. It never has been. It never will be. There’s no excuse.
An early exit for Carlos Alcaraz
(Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
In one of the most shocking turn of events in men’s tennis in a long time, Carlos Alcaraz is out in the second round of the US Open.
Not only is he out, but he lost in straight sets to unranked opponent Botic van de Zandschulp, who just easily had the biggest moment of his career. You wouldn’t know it if you were watching the match, though.
This is what acting like you’ve been there before looks like. Van de Zandschulp seems unmoved after taking down arguably the best player in the world.
It’s hard to overstate how big of an upset this is. Alcaraz had just won Wimbledon and the French Open. Van de Zandschulp is unranked. Yet, here we are, with Alcaraz’s season over and Van de Zandschulp moving forward.
What a turn of events. Tennis, man. You’ve got to love it.
College football is still a mad house
Isn’t it just the best? Colorado beat North Dakota State after this wild go-ahead grab in the fourth quarter from Travis Hunter.
The numbers in this one were crazy. Shedeur Sanders finished the game with 445 yards passing and four touchdowns. Hunter finished with 132 yards and three touchdowns. Jimmy Horn Jr. had 198 yards and a touchdown himself.
