Former Rangers player Kevin Hayes posted a heartbreaking tribute to Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau after the forward's tragic death on Thursday night.
Hayes posted a photo of Gaudreau and his nephew, Beau, on his Instagram story, writing, “Love you John! Say hello to Beau's dad.”
In the photo, Gaudreau appears to have his arm outstretched to give Bo a high-five.
Beau's father, Jimmy Hayes, Kevin's older brother, passed away in August 2021, the day after Beau's second birthday.
Toxicology tests later showed he had cocaine and fentanyl in his system, his family told the Boston Globe.
Kevin Hayes has also been close friends with Gaudreau since their days at Boston College, and a video of Gaudreau dancing on fellow superstar Brady Tkachuk's shoulders at Hayes' wedding went viral on Friday.
NHL player Johnny Gaudreau on Instagram. Kevin Hayes/Instagram
Hayes, who now plays for the Penguins, wrote an article for The Players' Tribune last year in memory of his brother.
“Jimmy was my No. 1 fan,” Kevin Hayes wrote, “In his eyes, I could do no wrong. He believed I was an All-Star every year. I miss my FaceTime calls with him more than anything on the way home from games.”
“… It still doesn't seem real. Some days it's too hard to bear. That's the truth. It sucks. It sucks to talk about it. It sucks to remember it. It sucks to never hear him talk again. It sucks.”
Jimmy's widow, Kristen Hayes, also mourned the Gaudreau brothers' tragic deaths in a post on her Instagram Story on Friday.
“Unimaginable news this morning. Heartbroken. No words,” she wrote, adding a broken heart emoji.
Similar outpourings of support across the NHL have followed the deaths of Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, who were hit by a suspected drunk driver while riding their bikes in Old Man's Township on Thursday night.
In Columbus, where Gaudreau played the past two seasons with the Blue Jackets, fans held an impromptu memorial outside Nationwide Arena, leaving flowers, hats and hockey sticks to pay their respects.
