Columbus Blue Jackets remember Johnny Gaudreau: 'You were one of a kind and we loved you'
After almost a week of grieving, the Blue Jackets are still reeling from the sting of losing Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, in a tragic wreck.
Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were killed last Thursday in South Jersey by a suspected drunk driver as they biked together along a road in Oldmans Township — not far from the family's home in Salem County. Their shocking deaths ripped through the hockey world, leaving players, coaches, former teammates, fans and their family all in grief.
Impromptu memorials have sprung up from Calgary to Columbus to Boston to their hometown in South Jersey, all places where Johnny Gaudreau played and Matthew traveled to see him. At Nationwide Arena, dozens of sticks, flowers, pucks, jerseys and handmade signs were left by fans outside the building’s East entrance ― where a grassroots candlelight vigil held by fans was held the night the tragedy was confirmed.
A team vigil for fans was planned for Wednesday in the same location, after president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell and four players ― captain Boone Jenner and alternates Erik Gudbranson, Zach Werenski and Sean Kuraly — spoke publicly for the first time since the Gaudreau brothers perished. All wore matching polo shirts with Gaudreau's No. 13 on them while reading statements and choking back tears.
Time will eventually provide healing, but right now the Jackets are gutted as a team and organization.
“It’s difficult to find the right words in the face of this heartbreaking and unimaginable tragedy that took the lives of our teammate, John Gaudreau, and his brother, Matty Gaudreau,” Jenner said. “In the past few days, moving through all the emotions — anger, sadness, disbelief and emptiness ― I’ve come to realize how much love I have for John. I’m very honored to be able to speak to what John meant, not only to me, but all his teammates and the positive impact he had on our lives.”
Columbus Blue Jackets players share memories about Johnny Gaudreau, express remorse for Gaudreau family
Jenner and Gaudreau had become close after the latter shocked the NHL in July 2022 by leaving Calgary for Columbus as a free agent. They played on the same forward line, the top one, for most of Gaudreau’s time with the Blue Jackets and developed a close bond as linemates. Gudbranson was also close with Gaudreau after they’d become friends in Calgary the year before both picked the Blue Jackets.
They drove to games together, knew each other’s families like their own and felt like brothers. In fact, that was a recurring theme in all four players’ remarks Wednesday. Losing Gaudreau as a teammate is like losing a brother and knowing that his family lost two brothers, two sons, two husbands and two fathers is even more difficult to swallow.
“You’ve been in our thoughts every second of every day,” Jenner said, addressing the Gaudreau family that's headed up by parents Guy and Jane. “Whenever you met one Gaudreau, it wasn’t long after that you were meeting another, and then receiving a bottle of Guy’s homemade maple syrup. It was easy to see very quickly how tight knit their family was.”
Gudbranson, whose NHL career was a transient existence before signing a four-year contract with the Blue Jackets, said Gaudreau’s friendship meant even more to him because they’d stayed teammates for three years.
“To John, I’ve been lucky to play all around North America, and I’ve been blessed with many amazing teammates,” Gudbranson said. “But within all that movement, I struggled to find a constant connection with many of them. When I moved to Calgary ... I knew it was different.”
Gudbranson said Gaudreau’s antics before games used to drive him “crazy,” and it was all intentionally done ― from walking out of his house “seven minutes late,” for rides together to the arena to wearing a hoodie, toque and “10-year old sweatpants” the night before games.
“You were one of a kind, and we loved you,” Gudbranson said, choking up. “And we still do.”
Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell says team will continue to support Gaudreau family, attend memorial service as a team
Waddell was also shaken.
Though the Jackets’ new GM just took the job in late May, he knew Gaudreau from stints working with USA Hockey during world tournaments, and was eager to have the star lead his new NHL team’s resurgence.
“In talking with people in the organization, including the guys here with me today, it’s apparent just how special of a person Johnny was, and how significant his loss is being felt by everyone,” Waddell said. “Where there’s a huge hole in our lineup, there’s even a larger one in our hearts.”
Waddell briefly addressed a topic that neither he nor the rest of the Blue Jackets are ready to talk about.
“I know there are questions related to our team and how we’re going to move forward without Johnny, and the impact his loss will have on our lineup,” Waddell said. “Those questions will be for another day. Our immediate focus is on supporting the Gaudreau family and supporting each other, as we continue to grieve the loss of Johnny and Matthew.”
More: Reflecting on Johnny Gaudreau: 5 memorable moments with Columbus Blue Jackets
Part of that support will include attending memorial services for the Gaudreau brothers as a team, whenever they’re held. In the meantime, the Jackets will keep leaning on each other.
“You’ve got four of the (team) leaders right here that are going to play a major role in it,” Waddell said. “Talking to Boone this weekend, getting the team together, they’re each other’s brothers and these guys will do a tremendous job to help everybody through it.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets players, Waddell grieve for Gaudreau: 'We loved you'
