Thousands of fans have penned tributes to late NHL veteran Johnny Gaudreau at the home of his former team the Calgary Flames following his tragic death in a bicycle accident last week.
The 31-year-old Gaudreau, who previously spent nine seasons with Calgary, and his younger brother Matthew, 29, died last Thursday after being struck by a vehicle while out cycling in New Jersey the night before their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of Woodstown, has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide with no bail or bond and is alleged to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
Johnny was poised to enter his third season with the Columbus Blue Jackets later this year, while Matthew was a professional hockey player in the ECHL. Both of them were set to be groomsmen at Katie’s wedding, which was subsequently cancelled.
In light of the tragedy, grieving supporters flocked to Scotiabank Saddledome to pay their respects to the ex-Flames forward and his brother, with Calgary sharing a stunning photo of thousands of chalk messages and tributes outside their arena.
The NHL team wrote alongside the picture: ‘Speechless.’
Gaudreau spent the first nine of his 11 NHL seasons with the Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
At 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, the winger was part of a generation of hockey players who thrived in an era of speed and skill that made being undersized less of a disadvantage. He scored 20-plus goals six times and was a 115-point player in 2021-22 as a first-time NHL All-Star when he had a career-best 40 goals and 75 assists.
Gaudreau helped Boston College win the NCAA championship in 2012 and in 2014 took home the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the country before becoming a fourth-round pick of Calgary’s in 2011.
As a professional, he was part of the NHL all-rookie team during his first season in the league and was third in voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2014-15.
Brother Matthew never made it to the NHL, but was most recently playing for the Worcester Railers in the 2021-22 season. He also spent a season with the Reading Royals.
And to add to the tragedy, it has also emerged that his wife Madeline is currently expecting the couple’s first child.
A GoFundMe page set up to support Madeline in her pregnancy following her husband’s passing has now raised over $536,000 at the time of writing.
Johnny, meanwhile, leaves behind wife Meredith and their two children; daughter Noa, one, and six-month-old son Johnny.
Meredith, who was also expected to be a maid of honor at sister-in-law Katie’s wedding, broke her silence on Saturday following the devastating loss of her husband and brother-in-law.
Along with a selection of photos of the couple and their two children, she wrote: ‘The absolute best dad in the world. So caring and loving.
‘The best partner to go through parenthood with. John never missed a single appointment. Was the best at putting the baby to sleep and the Apple of Noa’s eye. I love how much she looks like him.
‘We are going to make you proud. We love you so so so much daddy’.
Katie also spoke out after the loss of her two brothers, writing: ‘To know these two was to love these two. There are absolutely no words I have to express the bond my family shared.
‘The entire world knows there would never have been a John without Matty or Matty without John.
‘The absolute best big brothers a little girl could have asked for. This will never be a goodbye post because I will never stop saying your names and honoring you both.
‘I’ll take the best care of mom, dad, Kristen, Mer, Madeline, and your babies.’
In documents seen by DailyMail.com, alleged drunk-driver Higgins admitted to cops that he drank ‘5-6 beers’ before getting behind the wheel of his Jeep Grand Cherokee and crashing into the Gaudreau brothers.
The crash happened less than three miles from the Gaudreau family home, hours before Katie was due to marry partner Devin Joyce.
Higgins, a decorated US Army officer and father of two, was two cars behind the Gaudreau brothers, driving north on County Road 551, when he veered into the southbound lane to overtake the vehicles in front of him. He passed one with ease and was about to overtake the second – an SUV – when its driver veered into the middle of the road to safely pass Johnny and Matthew.
He then cut back into the northbound lane – knocking them both down and killing them.
On Friday, police released a photo of him looking glassy-eyed in his mugshot after he was arrested and charged.
Higgins then made his first court appearance on Friday in Salem County Court via video link, where he outrageously appeared to sigh in frustration after being ordered to stay in custody until next Thursday.
