The Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames each will hold a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, who were fatally struck by a vehicle on Thursday while riding bicycles in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.
Johnny, who played the past two seasons with Columbus and his first nine NHL seasons with Calgary, was 31. Matthew, 29, played four seasons at Boston College, including one season with Johnny. He also played five professional seasons, with Worcester and Reading of the ECHL and Bridgeport and Stockton of the American Hockey League, before retiring after the 2021-22 season.
The vigil in Columbus will be Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on the Front Street Plaza outside the east entrance to Nationwide Arena. It will include remarks from the Blue Jackets organization as well as 13:21 of silent remembrance; Johnny wore No. 13 with the Blue Jackets, Flames and at Boston College, and Matthew wore No. 21 at BC.
The ceremony in Calgary will also be held Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET, outside the west entrance of Scotiabank Saddledome. It will feature speakers from the Flames organization and can be viewed on the team’s official website.
Fans have constructed a makeshift memorial outside each arena.
Johnny was selected by the Flames in the fourth round (No. 104) of the 2011 NHL Draft while playing for Dubuque of the United States Hockey League. He went on to Boston College, where he played three seasons, winning the Hobey Baker Award, given to the best player in NCAA Division I hockey, in 2014 after he led BC with 80 points (36 goals, 44 assists) in 40 games. He was also a member of the NCAA East First All-American Team in 2013 and 2014.
In 2014-15, his first full season with Calgary, Johnny made the first of seven NHL All-Star Game appearances and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. He also won the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to the League's most gentlemanly player, in 2017.
Johnny had 743 points (243 goals, 500 assists) in 763 NHL regular-season games with the Flames and Blue Jackets, and 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 42 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
A three-time 30-goal scorer in the NHL, he had his best season in 2021-22, when he tied Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers for second in the League with 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists) in 82 games. He played for Columbus the past two seasons after signing as an unrestricted free agent on July 13, 2022.
