Bennett then nudged the puck forward into the empty spot where Gaudreau would’ve been stationed as Monahan’s left wing. For 13 seconds, symbolizing Gaudreau’s No. 13, the players on the ice and on each bench stood in respect and tapped their sticks. Fans applauded and then broke into a chant of, “JOHN-NY HOCK-EY!”
“It was hard, to be honest,” said Monahan, who signed with the Blue Jackets on July 1 so he could play with his good friend Gaudreau again. “It was a special, special moment that I’ll remember forever.”
Later, after Monahan scored in the second period, he pointed up to a banner that was hung in the rafters during the pregame ceremony. It reads, “Johnny Gaudreau 1993-2024” with his No. 13 under it.
“It means a lot for his family, his wife, his kids, the way they honored him here,” Monahan said.
The honors were not limited to Columbus and Calgary. The Gaudreau brothers were remembered throughout the NHL with each team holding video tributes and moments of silence before preseason games. Players on all 32 NHL teams had decals on the backs of their helmets with the letter G in the middle for Gaudreau, and No. 13 on the left for Johnny and No. 21 on the right for Matthew.
Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens, a 5-foot-8 forward who grew up idolizing Johnny because he overcame his size to star in the NHL, changed his jersey number to 13 this season to honor Gaudreau.
Beyond the NHL, a public memorial was held on Sept. 6 at Gloucester Catholic, the New Jersey high school where Johnny was coached by his father, and Matthew coached the past two seasons. Boston College, where Johnny and Matthew each played, held a pregame ceremony before its home opener against American International College on Oct. 19 to honor them and Tony Voce, another former Eagles player who died July 8.
Johnny and Matthew were inseparable. When the Flames, who selected Johnny in the fourth round (No. 104) of the 2011 NHL Draft, tried to sign him after his sophomore season, he turned down the offer to stay in college for one more season and play alongside Matthew, who had followed him to the Hockey East school.
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