LAS VEGAS -- Johnny Gaudreau was not just a superstar on the ice, he was one off of it as well.
The Columbus Blue Jackets forward and his brother, Matthew, were killed Aug. 29 when they were struck by a car while riding bikes near their hometown of Carneys Point, New Jersey. Johnny was 31, Matthew was 29.
Those who attended the NHL North American Player Media Tour this week remembered Johnny Hockey not only as a great player, but a tremendous person.
“The whole hockey world will miss him,” Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “I will miss him.”
Gaudreau played his first nine seasons with the Calgary Flames, going head-to-head against McDavid 34 times in the Battle of Alberta. The teams also faced off in the Western Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2022, Edmonton winning in five games.
“I’m grateful I had the chance to play against him, played playoff series against him, played many heated battles in the Battle of Alberta against him, and got to know him a little bit,” McDavid said. “I’ll miss him a lot. He was a great player and great person, and obviously was taken away way too soon.”
McDavid was also a teammate of Gaudreau at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey on Team North America, a squad made of up players 23-and-under from the United States and Canada.
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was also on that team. In fact, he played with Gaudreau at the World Cup before he even played an NHL game.
“Getting to know him playing in the World Cup was obviously so exciting and fun to play with and fun to get to know,” Matthews said.
Matthews’ lasting memory of Gaudreau was the play he made to set up Nathan MacKinnon’s game-winning goal against Sweden in the World Cup.
“That overtime against Sweden, him and Nate out there winning that game for us, I’ll always remember that,” Matthews said.
New York Islanders center Bo Horvat first got to know Gaudreau from playing against him in the Pacific Division when he was with the Vancouver Canucks and Gaudreau played for the Flames.
“I just knew him from playing against him, obviously, for a long time, and him being a real pain in my [butt] for a long time,” Horvat said. “But I got the pleasure of playing with him at the 2017 NHL All-Star Game. We were linemates playing 3-on-3 in L.A. and I was like, ‘I kind of wish you were on my team play with me.’
“There are so many stories that I've heard. He's always had a smile on his face. Was just a really good person, a really good person to be around.”
Perhaps Gaudreau’s biggest impact on hockey was the inspiration he provided to smaller players.
He was 5-foot-6, 137 pounds when the Flames selected him in the fourth round (No. 104) of the 2011 NHL Draft. But he played big on the ice, getting 743 points (243 goals, 500 assists) in 763 games with Calgary and Columbus.
“I think a lot of guys really looked up to him,” Matthews said. “It was kind of like [Patrick Kane], and then it was Johnny Gaudreau coming in after as a smaller forward that other kids could see as somebody that they could embody.”
Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick by the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2023 NHL Draft, is listed at 5-10, 185. Growing up in the Vancouver area, he got to see Gaudreau work his magic against his hometown Canucks.
“I’m not a big guy. I’m one of the smaller players in the League,” Bedard said. “Getting to watch someone like him and see him, I guess, dominate the Canucks especially when I was watching at home, he’s up there. He’s got no excuses. Why can’t I do it?
“A lot of people will tell you that same story, but he motivated a lot of people. He was an inspiration.”
Gaudreau had the same impact on Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti, who is 5-11, 185.
“Being a smaller guy, he paved the way for younger guys to have a path to the NHL and be able to effective and be a star in the League even though you’re not the biggest,” Perfetti said. “Obviously, his hands, his brain, his skating was fantastic, so I just tried to model my game a little bit after that and just always kind of said to myself, ‘If he’s able to do it at his size, why can’t I?’
“So, he just gave me that inspiration to keep going. He was an inspiring player to be a smaller guy and be that effective and be a superstar.”
Even NHL players who hardly knew Gaudreau knew of him and his sparking personality.
“I got to meet him at (Anaheim Ducks defenseman) Brian Dumoulin’s wedding (in 2019) … they were pretty close and played college and stuff together,” Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “I spent some time with him at All-Star Games and things like that. Just a great guy and so fun to be around.
“And you hear so many stories from guys who played with him, former teammates, and just a what a great person and nifty player he was. He was so crafty out there.”
MacKenzie Weegar, who played his first six NHL seasons with the Florida Panthers, was traded to the Calgary Flames on July 22, 2022, nine days after Gaudreau left Calgary to sign with the Blue Jackets as a free agent.
But he got to meet Gaudreau this past July at the wedding of Washington Capitals forward Andrew Mangiapane, who played the past seven seasons for the Flames.
“I got to see what he meant to a lot of his friends and his teammates, (Erik) Gudbranson and (Sean) Monahan and those boys were all there,” Weegar said. “A couple of great memories; one, the night before the wedding with the gun blowing bubbles in everybody’s faces, making everybody laugh, keeping everybody loose. And another one of him on the ice, just classic, vintage Johnny, of him sneaking behind me and getting a breakaway and going top shelf.
“It was a privilege to play against him. He will be missed. He meant a lot to a lot of people. We’ll keep his legacy and his whole family still in our memories. We’ll keep it going on a daily basis.”
Crosby shared a similar sentiment.
“Knowing the hockey community, I hope everyone will rally around his family and be there to support them for their loss,” Crosby said. “We’ll do anything that we can to support them.”
NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika and staff writers Mike Zeisberger and Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report
