Sports home openers are supposed to be filled with adrenaline and excitement, but Tuesday night in Columbus was much different.
The Blue Jackets returned to their home ice for the first time in the 2024-25 season. It was also their first home game since the death of their star Johnny Gaudreau.
Gaudreau and her brother Matthew, 31 and 29 years old respectively, were killed by a suspected drunk driver in late August while riding their bikes in their home state of New Jersey the day before their sister's wedding.
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Columbus Blue Jackets players warm up before their game against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on October 15, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. Players from both teams will wear the number 13 on their warm-up jerseys in memory of Blue Jackets player Johnny Gaudreau, who was struck and killed by a driver along with his brother while riding bicycles in Salem County, New Jersey, in August. is wearing. (Jason Morley/Getty Images)
Improvised monuments were quickly erected in both Columbus and Calgary, where he played his first eight NHL seasons.
There have been moments of silence and other memorials all over the NHL since the season began last week, but Columbus has been waiting for it, and they didn't disappoint in honoring their fallen star.
The team announced that a monument has been installed inside the arena, featuring equipment used in the game, replicas of lockers and fan memorial items.
A monument to Johnny Gaudreau is on display before the game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on October 15, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Jason Morley/Getty Images)
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During warmups, both the Blue Jackets and reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers wore Gaudreau's jerseys with the number 13 on them.
The team also hung Gaudreau's No. 13 jersey from the rafters.
Then, when the puck dropped, Columbus was on the ice with just four players, missing the left wing where Gaudreau was playing. Both the Panthers and Blue Jackets allowed 13 seconds of time overtime.
Then, in what can only be called a stroke of fate, Sean Monaghan, one of Gaudreau's best friends on the team, scored the team's second goal of the night. Monaghan and Gaudreau played together in Calgary, and Monaghan was signed. He plans to rejoin Columbus this offseason. Then he pointed to 13 hanging from the rafters.
Gaudreau's father, Guy, joined the team for Monday and Tuesday morning skates.
“He just looked like he was having fun,” Jackets head coach Dean Evason said. “I'm just having fun skating. I told him, 'If you want to come out anytime, you're welcome.'
Guy Gaudreau attended practice with the Philadelphia Flyers last month. The Gaudreau family lives in the Philadelphia suburbs.
A fan grieves at a makeshift memorial set up by fans for Blue Jackets hockey player Johnny Gaudreau on Friday, August 30, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)
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According to New Jersey State Police, the Gaudreau brothers were riding their bicycles down the road at about 8:30 p.m. ET when Sean Higgins, 43, who was also driving in the same direction, passed two other vehicles. I tried to do so and collided with him.
They were pronounced dead at the scene. Police said Higgins was charged with two motor vehicle crashes while under the influence of alcohol and was booked into the Salem County Correctional Facility.
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