Early on the morning of Aug. 30, Columbus residents and Blue Jackets fans woke up to news no one could have imagined: star left wing Johnny Gaudreau had passed away.
The night before, Johnny and his brother Matthew went on a bike ride in Salem County, New Jersey. Both, who were in town for their sister’s wedding the next day, were struck from behind by a vehicle. The driver later admitted to being under the influence of alcohol.
Johnny Gaudreau was selected in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL entry draft by the Calgary Flames. In 602 games for Calgary, he had 609 goal contributions, including the famous Game 7 overtime goal against the Dallas Stars.
In 2022, Gaudreau made the shock transfer to the down-on-their-luck Columbus Blue Jackets. Gaudreau, the most sought-after free agent in that window, turned down more money from other teams to come to Columbus.
When asked what helped his decision in signing for the Blue Jackets, he said, “Columbus was my cup of tea.”
In two seasons with the Blue Jackets, Gaudreau netted 33 goals and 101 assists. In those two seasons, the Blue Jackets had a record of 52 wins, 91 losses and 21 overtime losses.
On Aug. 31, Columbus sports teams all paid their respects to Gaudreau and his brother. The Columbus Crew held a minute of silence during the 13th minute of their game against New York City FC, in addition to honoring him prior to the game. The Crew went on to win 4-2, and dedicated their win to Gaudreau. The Ohio State University football team also honored Gaudreau pregame.
Gaudreau leaves behind a wife and two young children. A GoFundMe with an initial goal of $30,000 has now reached over $500,000 in donations. On Sep. 9, Johnny Gaudreau’s wife revealed at his funeral that she is nine weeks pregnant. “CBJArtillery”, a popular Blue Jackets fan page on social media, raised $92,000 through merch sales for the brothers’ families.
Junior business management major Blake Davidson is an avid Blue Jackets fan from Cincinnati. Growing up, he never had an NHL team to support locally, so he turned to the Jackets.
“I really started following them in high school,” Davidson said. “People usually say it’s a pain to be a Jackets fan because we haven’t really won a lot.”
After a string of playoff appearances, the Blue Jackets had multiple losing seasons. Davidson said Gaudreau’s arrival was a complete surprise.
“I knew he was a stud, a lot of Calgary [Flames] fans weren’t happy with the way he left,” Davidson said. “He just up and left because he wanted to come to Columbus. I guess he really liked it here.”
Gaudreau’s love of Columbus was evident in his philanthropic work, including the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation and as an advocate for men’s mental health.
Earlier in the 2023-2024 NHL season, former Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine pledged $1,000 for every point he scored to the OhioHealth Foundation’s men’s mental health programs. In January, Laine entered the Player Assistance Program due to mental health issues.
Gaudreau then matched Laine’s pledge, offering the same $1,000 for every point scored. After scoring five goals and 21 assists, he added $26,000 to Laine’s pledge.
Gaudreau was also extremely active with the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation, supporting the community through youth hockey and educational clinics.
When talking about Gaudreau’s influence on the community in such a short period of time, Davidson described it using one word: “Hope.”
“The word to use is hope. He gave us hope that Columbus would have a better team, that Columbus would change,” Davidson said.
