He was college hockey's player of the year around the same time Johnny Manziel won the equivalent award in football, but "Johnny Hockey" was nothing like "Johnny Football".
He fell all the way to the fourth round of the NHL draft largely due to his small stature, where he was drafted by the Calgary Flames. He was a Calder(rookie of the year) finalist and won a Lady Byng trophy(clean play) two years later after taking just two minor penalties in 72 games.
He led the Flames in scoring six times, led them to the playoffs five times, and finished fourth in MVP voting twice. In 2021-22 he scored a career-high 115 points and led the NHL with a +64 rating. Flames fans had hopes of seeing Gaudreau and fellow American Matthew Tkachuk bring a Cup to Calgary.
The Flames wanted keep Gaudreau in Calgary. They were able to offer the most money and term. But he wanted to play closer to his home in New Jersey.
The Flyers were interested but did not have the cap space to sign a top-tier free agent. The Devils had the money, the proximity to his family, and a roster of young, talented stars on the rise, notably American center Jack Hughes. The Devils made their pitch and thought they had a good chance at Gaudreau.
He chose Columbus. No one chooses Columbus. The Blue Jackets have rarely developed or attracted star players, never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs, and never signed a superstar of Johnny's caliber. He wanted to change that. He and his wife felt the city and community was the right fit for them.
He struggled in his first year with the Jackets. His point totals dropped by 41 points, and his plus/minus rating dropped by nearly a hundred. Columbus finished 6th in the Metro division the year before Gaudreau arrived. They finished last in both of his seasons with the team.
His point totals dropped even further in 2023-24, to 60 points and a career-low 12 goals. But there was optimism in buckeye country. Top draft pick Adam Fantilli was expected to improve in his second full season. Old Flame Sean Monahan was signed to center Gaudreau's line. Former Devils defenseman Damon Severson had signed as a top-tier free agent last summer. Columbus was becoming a desirable destination for top-tier talent, thanks in large part to Johnny.
The Blue Jackets have had more than their share of off-ice tragedy. Starting goalie Elvis Merzlikins has struggled since the death of his net mate and countryman Matiss Kivlenieks three summers ago. Finnish winger Patrik Laine - a 40-goal scorer in Winnipeg - was acquired by Columbus a year before signing Gaudreau. Though he averaged a point a game from 2021-23, Laine struggled with personal issues that clearly affected his on-ice production. At Laine's request, he was traded to Montreal earlier this month.
He was back home in Jersey, riding a bicycle with his brother. In town for his sister's wedding.
Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were both killed while biking Thursday night in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. Sean Higgins, 43, was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol and brought to Salem County Correctional Facility. State police said it charged Higgins, from Woodstown, New Jersey, with two counts of vehicular homicide in connection to the brothers' death.
The Gaudreau brothers were riding their bikes on County Route 551 North when they were allegedly struck by Higgins from behind, according to the New Jersey State Police.Higgins was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound behind a sedan, SUV and the Gaudreau brothers around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday evening, police said. According to state troopers, Higgins initially moved into the southbound lanes and passed the slower-moving sedan. The SUV in front of Higgins then moved to the middle of the road to safely pass the biking Gaudreau brothers on the right side of the road. However, Higgins then attempted to pass the SUV on the right, hitting Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau from behind and fatally injuring both brothers, according to the highway patrol.
As a fan, it's natural to think of these guys as players on a team. How does the loss of Johnny Gaudreau affect the Blue Jackets' power play... is not something on anyone's mind today.
You know what's on my mind today? How the loss of Johnny and Matthew affects Katie Gaudreau. This was supposed to be her wedding day, the "happiest day", the day every girl dreams about.
Instead she has to bury her brothers. All because some asshole got liquored up, got behind the wheel, and got impatient with the slow moving traffic around him.
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Horrible and perfectly avoidable tragedy. Prayers to the whole Gaudreau family.
ReplyDeleteThis story is just awful all around and I'm gutted for his family, especially his wife and kids, plus his sister. Completely senseless and avoidable as you, Matt, and others have said. Both drunk and aggressive driving have huge consequences like this and need to be dealt with urgently.
ReplyDeleteGutted by this. How does the family recover from this? his son is 4 months old. Daughter is 2. Matthew's son will never meet his father. How does this make any sense.
ReplyDeleteThat +64 was one of the best since Gretzky at +69 in 1987
ReplyDeleteI see atrocious driving all around me and it's gotten a lot worse in the last 10-20 years. I'd like to say tragedies like this will make people think before they get behind the wheel but for people like Sean Higgins I don't think it affects them at all.
ReplyDeleteAnother tragic story of people dying when it could have been avoided. It's so frustrating that people continue to get behind the wheel when they're drunk. And time after time... they live but someone else doesn't.
ReplyDeleteI haven't followed hockey as closely in recent years... so I wasn't familiar with Mr. Gaudreau or his brother. But my heart goes out to their fans, friends, and family.
"People like Sean Higgins." Yeah, and Miguel Cabrera, Mark Grace, etc etc. Let's see some sports leagues give players the Trevor Bauer treatment when they commit a drunk driving offense. Let's see how the NHL handles it next time a player gets arrested for drunk driving. When that player is back on the ice in no time, we'll know how much people really care about changing our drunk-driving culture.
ReplyDeleteI am even more appalled by this person's behavior beyond the drunk driving -- what he did to kill those bikers, his reaction after being arrested.
DeleteI remember that story about the move to Columbus and it stuck with me even though I don't follow hockey. Young kids and sister's wedding? So sad.
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