Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Johnny Gaudreau, an award-winning NHL forward who played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames, has died. He was 31 years old.
Gaudreau and his brother, 29-year-old Matthew Gaudreau, died suddenly, per the NHL and Blue Jackets.
“The Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by the unimaginable tragedy,” the team said in a statement. “Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend.”
Columbus Blue Jackets statement on the passing of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew. pic.twitter.com/V2aFykgKIs
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) August 30, 2024
In another statement, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the NHL family is “shocked and saddened by the tragic passing” of Gaudreau and his brother.
“Gaudreau often told the story of how his father taught him to skate as a child in his home state of New Jersey, and he carried that same youthful passion throughout his 11 NHL seasons,” Bettman said. “A skilled playmaker, Gaudreau participated in the NHL All-Star Game seven times where he was always a fan favorite, particularly while showcasing his talents in the various skills competitions for which he was so well suited.”
Commissioner Bettman Statement on the Passing of Johnny Gaudreau. https://t.co/JJHCkBDIzF pic.twitter.com/fhbjomNOPw
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) August 30, 2024
Johnny Gaudreau played 11 seasons in the NHL between the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets. He recorded 243 goals and 743 points in 763 career games. He also played in 42 playoff games, recording 11 goals and 33 points.
Gaudreau, who grew up in Carney’s Point, N.J., played youth hockey with the Philadelphia Little Flyers, most notably recording 90 points in 27 games at the U-13 AAA level in 2006-07. He then played U-18 hockey for Team Comcast in New Jersey and at Gloucester Catholic High School, where his father, Guy Gaudreau, coached.
In 2010-11, Gaudreau’s draft year, he scored 36 goals and had 72 points in 60 games for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL. He was a leading scorer as the team captured the Clark Cup and the USHL championship. There, the Flames noticed Gaudreau and asked then-Dubuque coach Jim Montgomery three times about him. While then-Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli was a part-owner of the USHL club, the Flames managed to draft Gaudreau in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL draft, 104th overall.
The following season, Gaudreau went to Boston College in the NCAA, earning Hockey East’s playoff MVP honor and being part of the team’s national championship. In 2012-13, Gaudreau was Hockey East’s player of the year and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA’s top men’s collegiate hockey player. That same season, he scored the most goals at the World Junior Championship, with seven for Team USA as they went on to win a gold medal.
Gaudreau returned to Boston College for a third season in 2013-14, during which his younger brother Matt was in his freshman year. The siblings-turned-teammates missed out on a championship together, but Johnny Gaudreau said that year was one of his favorites while reflecting on his career to date in 2015.
Gaudreau also won the Hobey Baker Award that year. In 40 games, he led the NCAA in goals (36), assists (44), and points (80). After that, he turned pro with the Flames.
Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports
Gaudreau was in the NHL for good. He recorded 64 points in his rookie year, then 78 in his sophomore campaign. He had 61 points in his third year but only four penalty minutes, earning him the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL’s most sportsmanlike player. ‘Johnny Hockey’ then became a point-per-game winger with 84 points in 80 games, then 99 in 82 games.
In the summer of 2018, Gaudreau met Meredith Morris, then a natal ICU nurse in Philadelphia, who lived next door to his off-season residence in Avalon, N.J. He proposed two years later, and they married in Philadelphia in 2021.
Gaudreau posted a career-high 155-point season in 2021-22, which included the regularly clutch performer scoring in overtime of a first-round Game 7 matchup against the Dallas Stars to advance the Flames to the next round.
That summer, Johnny and Meredith Gaudreau moved to Columbus with their first child on the way, daughter Noa Gaudreau. Gaudreau signed a seven-year, $68.25-million contract with the Blue Jackets, launching a new chapter of his career.
In two seasons with Columbus, Gaudreau earned a combined 134 points in 161 games. And in May 2024, Gaudreau set a Team USA World Championship record for most points (43) and assists (13) all-time.
At 5-foot-9 and 163 pounds, Gaudreau had frequently faced questions about whether he was too small to play high-level hockey. And each time, he proved doubters wrong.
“When I was in AAA hockey it was whether I could make the jump to the USHL, or going from USHL to college, college to NHL,” Gaudreau said in a 2015 Hockey News story. “There’s always been those little people doubting me. A lot of people didn’t think I could make it, but I tried to prove them wrong.”
Matt Gaudreau played another three years for Boston College between 2014 and 2017, recording 35 points in 40 games in his final campaign.
After that, he turned professional, playing for the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers and ECHL’s Worcester Railers over the following two seasons. In 2019-20, he played four games for the AHL’s Stockton Heat and 38 games for the ECHL’s Reading Royals before playing in Sweden in 2020-21.
In 2021-22, Matt Gaudreau began to coach, first as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Hockey Club and Philadelphia Rebels, then following in his father’s footsteps as a head coach for Gloucester Catholic High, according to eliteprospects.com.
Off the ice, Johnny Gaudreau took part in charity work, including hosting an annual charity golf tournament to raise proceeds for Gloucester Catholic High, which helps prospective students afford the tuition to attend the school. He and Matt Gaudreau also played in the Checking For Charity tournament at the Philadelphia Flyers’ practice facility, which raises funds for various charities, including the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Gaudreau also participated in initiatives with the Flames and Blue Jackets, including donating $1,000 for every goal he scored to KidSport Calgary and carrying on Patrik Laine’s pledge in 2023-24 of donating $1,000 for every point in support of men’s mental health initiatives. After Laine missed time due to injury and then entered the NHL and NHLPA Player Assistance Program, Gaudreau picked up where Laine left off.
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau are survived by their father, Guy, their mother, Jane, and their two sisters, Kristen and Katie, the latter of whom had a wedding scheduled for Friday.
Johnny Gaudreau is also survived by his wife, Meredith, daughter Noa and son, Johnny Edward Gaudreau, who was born in February.
Matthew Gaudreau is additionally survived by his wife, Madeline Gaudreau.
The hockey world sends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, teammates and colleagues of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
News Summary:
- NHL Forward Johnny Gaudreau, Brother Matthew Gaudreau, Pass Away
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