COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Tuesday will be a special – and emotional – night inside Nationwide Arena as the Columbus Blue Jackets play their first home game of the new season, but fueled with emotions like never before.
Blue Jacket Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew died Aug. 29 near the family home in New Jersey. They were out for a bike ride the night before their sister’s wedding when they were hit and killed by a suspected drunk driver.
Johnny Gaudreau was one of the top-scoring players in the NHL and was set to start his third season as a Blue Jacket.
A memorial to the brothers built by the team is filled with tributes compiled from the vigils and memorial services honoring the Gaudreaus.
More than 20 members of the Gaudreau family are expected to attend Tuesday’s home opener against the Florida Panthers; that includes Johnny’s wife Meredith and their children.
One can only imagine the grieving process the hockey family and the actual family have endured. Often, we try to navigate grief through distraction.
Johnny Gaudreau earned the nickname Johnny Hockey honestly. Hockey was a passion he shared with his brother and most notably, their father.
Blue Jackets fans said they are excited to see the team back on the ice, but it’s a bittersweet feeling.
The organization said it knows one jersey number will be overpowering others in the stands during the home opener – Johnny Hockey’s 13. They said it is comforting for the players and the Gaudreau family to see Johnny’s number.
The Blue Line Store is also doing something special to honor the Gaudreau boys.
Starting Tuesday at Nationwide’s store and online, it will be selling t-shirts and pucks with a special 13/21 logo representing Johnny and Matthew’s jersey numbers. It’s the same logo Blue Jackets players will be wearing all season.
There are 1,000 of each available, all donated by local companies, with 100 percent of the profits going to the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation.
When the Gaudreau brothers died on Aug. 29, the entire Blue Jackets organization scrambled to find the right note to honor the family while also dealing with grief themselves.
The Jackets employ dozens of people who work behind the scenes to make gamedays a reality, and many of those people were the driving force behind the memorials for the home opener and all of the days ahead.
