On August 30, 2024 Columbus Blue Jackets fans fell silent with the news of Blue Jackets star, Johnny Gaudreau, and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, being killed the previous night. The two brothers were out on a late-night bike ride while in New Jersey to be groomsmen for their sister, Katie Gaudreau’s, wedding that Friday. They never returned home. After the accident, a GoFundMe was launched to support Matthew’s wife, Madeline Gaudreau, as she is expecting her first child, a boy who will be named Tripp.
“Thank you for the best years of my life,” says Meredith, wife of Johnny Gaudreau. “Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours.”
Only a day before their sister’s wedding, two brothers, fathers, husbands, and amazing hockey players lost their lives to a drunk driver. The Columbus Blue Jackets made numerous posts addressing the tragedy.
“Johnny played the game with great joy which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice,” the CBJ reflected. “He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played from Boston College to the Calgary Flames to Team USA to the Blue Jackets. He thrilled fans in a way only Johnny Hockey could.”
Johnny joined the Blue Jackets community only two years ago, but was welcomed with open arms and cheered for at every game. After the news hit social media, fans began to leave flowers, jerseys, and hockey sticks in front of the Nationwide Arena to honor our Johnny Hockey.
“We will miss him terribly and do everything that we can to support his family and each other through this tragedy,” the CBJ expressed.
Thomas Worthington Senior, Thomas Hayward, is a diehard hockey fan and CBJ fan. When he heard the news, he was shocked.
“ It almost didn’t feel real, it’s a tragic situation,” Hayward says. “Even though I don’t know him personally, every fan still does in a sense know him so it was shocking.”
This past Wednesday night a vigil was held at the arena in memory of Johnny and Matthew. At the arena known for their loud cannons and celebration, there was 13:21 minutes of silent remembrance. The two numbers represented the 13 Johnny has worn throughout his career and the 21 worn by Matthew, when he and Johnny played together at Boston College.
Just this past July, Sean Monahan was signed into a five-year, $27.5 million contract as an unrestricted free agent with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played for the Calgary Flames for nine seasons, two seasons for the Montreal Canadiens, and was traded to the Winnipeg Jets in 2024, but then traded to the CBJ to play alongside Johnny Gaudreau.
“I haven’t watched much of Sean but there are other Calgary guys here so I imagine he’ll more likely want to play for Johnny,” Hayward says when asked if he thinks Johnny’s death will change Monahan’s position on the team.
The Blue Jackets start training camp in only one month, and all eyes are wondering how the team will recover from this tragedy.
“Eventually it will have to be addressed but it’s really anyone’s guess at what they’ll do,” Hayward says, looking ahead at the upcoming season. “People take loss differently and there’s a lot of people in that organization who have to be accounted for.”
It is unsure how this loss will affect the team and the 2024-2025 season, but all we can hope is that they win it for Johnny.
