COLUMBUS, Ohio — On the eve of training camp, Columbus Blue Jackets players said on Wednesday they’ve embraced a simple but powerful question — “What would Johnny want?” — to help them prepare to play the 2024-25 season.
That’s a reference, of course, to fallen teammate Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed, along with his younger brother, Matthew, when they were struck by a car while riding bicycles on a country road in suburban New Jersey on Aug. 29.
“He’s want us to play hockey, and he loved every second he was at the rink — practice, games, sharing time with the guys,” Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. “The last few weeks, it seems like when we get on the ice (for captain’s skates), we can go be ourselves and have a good time.
“It’s time to push ourselves, work hard and get ready. But also to just enjoy being out there. It’s helped us prepare for the season.”
Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets announced preliminary plans to honor both brothers beginning immediately and lasting throughout the season, including a sticker on their helmets and a No. 13 patch on their home and away sweaters.
General manager Don Waddell said the club will maintain Gaudreau’s locker stall in the Blue Jackets’ dressing room, and they’ll take his No. 13 sweater with them on the road to maintain his spot in the road dressing rooms, too.
The helmet sticker, which will debut with the Blue Jackets’ first preseason game on Monday in Buffalo, has Johnny Gaudreau’s No. 13 and Matthew Gaudreau’s No. 21, as worn at Boston College, on either side of two doves.
The No. 13 patch on the Blue Jackets’ sweaters will debut with Columbus’ regular-season opener on Oct. 10 in Minnesota.
Among the club’s other plans:
- A moment of silence will be observed before the Blue Jackets’ first preseason game on Sept. 25 vs. the St. Louis Blues.
- The club’s typical opening-night festivities, which include a blue-carpet entrance by players, will instead be held before the Blue Jackets’ second home game of the season, Oct. 17 vs. Buffalo. The home opener on Oct. 15 vs. Florida will celebrate the memory of the Gaudreau brothers, and all fans in attendance will be given a “13” patch like the one worn on the Blue Jackets’ sweaters.
- Proceeds from the club’s 50/50 raffle for all four preseason games will be donated to the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation.
It was another emotional day at Nationwide Arena, and the players who spoke at the club’s pre-camp media day — Jenner, defenseman Zach Werenski and Sean Monahan — all spoke powerfully and poignantly about Gaudreau’s loss and how his memory will always stick them.
Monahan signed as a free agent with the Blue Jackets this summer, in part to be reunited with Gaudreau, his longtime teammate and close friend from their time together with the Calgary Flames. The Monahan and Gaudreau families spoke openly about wanting to raise their kids together. He was a pallbearer this month at the funeral.
“It’s obviously tough,” Monahan said. “I still don’t know the exact words to say. I’m excited for the season, I’m excited to get it going. We’re going to miss Johnny. We’re going to miss Johnny a lot. It’s something I think about every day. It’s really hard to get through, but we have a great group here and we’re going to miss him as a team.
“I love it here. It’s a beautiful place to live. My family loves it here. The staff is amazing. The players are very welcoming and very humble. It’s exciting. I feel at home here, and I’m excited to get the season going.”
The Blue Jackets made sweeping changes over the offseason. They have a new GM (Waddell), a new coach (Dean Evason), several new players (forwards Monahan and James van Riemsdyk, defensemen Jordan Harris and Jack Johnson), etc.
Evason, in his first public comments since Gaudreau’s death, said the coaching staff plans to help keep Gaudreau’s memory alive along with the players.
“The coaching staff is going to emphasize that to our group,” Evason said. “His stall is going to be there. Tell stories. Remember. Laugh.
“With the (systems) videos that we put together for camp, somebody asked, ‘Should we take Johnny out of all the clips we show to players? And we said, ‘Absolutely not.’ Johnny’s going to teach, good and bad. (chuckles) If he didn’t back-check, we’ll show it.
“He’s going to be with us. He’s going to be a presence in our locker room.”
Required reading
• For Don Waddell, leading Blue Jackets through Johnny Gaudreau tragedy is an echo of the past
• Funeral for Johnny, Matthew Gaudreau draws overflow crowd, tear-filled remembrances
(Photo courtesy of Columbus Blue Jackets)
