Johnny Gaudreau’s Columbus teammates have been given a few options for how to handle their emotions during the Blue Jackets’ home opener.
If you want to cry, cry.
If you want to laugh, laugh.
The only rules — play the game the way “Johnny Hockey” would, and with him in mind.
An emotional night awaits in Columbus on Tuesday, when the Blue Jackets host the Florida Panthers. It will be a night of tributes to Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets’ star who would have been entering his third season with the club and 11th NHL season overall, and his brother Matthew Gaudreau. They were killed on Aug. 29 when police said they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while they were riding their bicycles on a rural road in New Jersey on the eve of their sister Katie’s wedding.
“It’s such an unprecedented thing and something that obviously none of us wanted to go through, and nobody ever wants to go through it,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said Monday as final preparations for the celebration of the Gaudreaus were being made. “But we have to.”
The 31-year-old Gaudreau wore jersey No. 13 for the Blue Jackets. Matthew Gaudreau — who was 29 and played five pro seasons in the American Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League and in Sweden — wore jersey No. 21. All 32 NHL teams are wearing decals on their helmets with 13, 21 and the letter G on their helmets through Oct. 24. USA Hockey has a similar tribute for its teams at all levels this year.
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On Tuesday, the “13” tributes will be almost everywhere. Both the Blue Jackets and Panthers will take the ice for warmups wearing jerseys bearing the name Gaudreau and jersey number 13; those sweaters will be auctioned and raffled off to benefit the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation. There’s “13” on the ice behind the goals. All fans in attendance will receive a “13” patch, the ones Blue Jackets players will be wearing on their jerseys this season.
And they say the game starts at 7 p.m. local time, but really, puck drop is at 7:13 p.m.
“Whatever they need,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Monday. “Whatever the fans need, whatever the team needs to start that healing process, we’d be proud to be a part of it.”
Gaudreau — all of 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds — was a star at Boston College before making it to the NHL, his debut coming in Calgary’s finale for the 2013-14 season. His first goal came on his first shot in his first game, and his star only kept shining brighter from there.
The player who fished the puck out of the net after Gaudreau’s first goal was Sean Monahan, his teammate then in Calgary and his teammate now in Columbus.
“I saw it firsthand. He had an impact on so many people,” Monahan said. “I mean, players that played against him are a fan of his and watch him and study his game and try and be like him.”
Monahan likely never aspired to be a donkey. Going forward, the Blue Jackets will clamor to be called one.
Johnny Gaudreau used that term — “donkey” — freely and endearingly around friends and teammates. The Blue Jackets have had a celebration for about a decade where the player of the game gets to wear a Civil War-style kepi hat, the recipient selected by the previous player recipient. The kepi is retired. The player of the game now gets a donkey hat. Monahan was the first to receive it.
“I’m really happy that we’ve kind of switched it up,” Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. “I think it’s fitting for us. It was a great idea. And, you know, we wish the little guy was still here calling us that, But Monny is the right guy to get that the first time, for sure.”
Guy Gaudreau, the late brothers’ father and a longtime coach, was on the ice with the Blue Jackets for practice in Columbus on Monday and planned to be back for morning skate on Tuesday. Members of the family will be at the game. The tributes will not stop with this game. They’ll keep going, one way or another, for years to come.
“There’s going to be some tough moments, no doubt about it,” Gudbranson said. “We still miss him.”
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