(Editor’s note: This article was updated on Wednesday night with details from the candlelight vigil in Calgary.)
As fans approached the plaza outside Nationwide Arena on Wednesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets had staffers positioned at all of the possible entry points with two boxes in hand. One held candles, the other tissues.
Turns out, both were in short supply.
The Blue Jackets could not immediately provide an estimate of the crowd size, but more than 2,000 candles were handed out for a team-sponsored vigil to honor the lives of Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, who were killed last Thursday night when they were struck by a car while riding bicycles near their childhood home in New Jersey.
As for tissues, there may never be enough.
Blue Jackets fans — but, really, the entire city of Columbus and beyond — has been gutted by the sadness by this story. The vigil was to honor the Gaudreaus, of course, but it also helped a grieving community to gather and hug and, yes, cry together. A similar vigil was held on Wednesday night in Calgary, where Johnny Gaudreau began his NHL career.
As the Blue Jackets players spoke outside their arena, sniffling and quiet sobbing could be heard among the crowd.
“This is a heartbreak that words alone cannot heal,” Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner told the crowd. “That said, the support from you guys — for us as a team, and more importantly for the Gaudreau family — has been incredible to see. We’re so happy, we’re so proud to be part of this community.
“As we continue to grieve together, let’s continue sharing our incredible memories of Johnny and Matty. Let’s keep their stories alive, hold them in our thoughts, and keep them in our prayers. Nothing will fill the void in our hearts, but our memories will help us get through this difficult time.”
(Aaron Portzline / The Athletic)
Blue Jackets president and general manager Don Waddell and three players — Jenner, Erik Gudbranson and Cole Sillinger — spoke to the crowd. Looking back at them were hundreds of fans in Gaudreau’s No. 13 Blue Jackets sweater, but also Calgary Flames, Boston College and Team USA sweaters.
“Thank you very much for being here,” Gudbranson said. “It means the world to our dressing room that you guys are not only standing by us in tough times during hockey seasons, but when it matters most.
“Our hearts are shattered in a million pieces, there’s no doubt about that. Johnny was an amazing teammate and an amazing friend.”
Gudbranson and Gaudreau played together in both Calgary and Columbus, and they signed the same day with the Blue Jackets two summers ago and had grown even closer the past two seasons. They were an odd coupling in one sense: Gudbranson a 6-foot-5 defenseman and Gaudreau a 5-foot-9 (maybe) forward.
“There’s something that I’ll miss very dearly,” Gudbranson said. “I had this little thing with John, where I’d pick him up and give him a bearhug, and I wouldn’t let him down until he told me he loved me. He wouldn’t tell me for a long time. I know now, with him up there, that it’s because he enjoyed the hug.
“I just miss him so much. It’s wrong.”
Sillinger, only 21, was the third player to speak. He’s already played three NHL seasons, the past two as Gaudreau’s teammate.
“My brothers and I played a lot of pond hockey growing up in Saskatchewan,” he said. “Quite often, we’d pretend to be No. 13 for the Calgary Flames.
“I’m honored to call Johnny a great teammate and a great human. Love you, man.”
(Aaron Portzline / The Athletic)
When the players finished speaking, the candles were lit. Within a few seconds, drips of wax joined the tears on the sidewalk.
The Blue Jackets then observed 13 minutes, 21 seconds of silence, with only the hum and rumble of the city in the background, to honor the sweater numbers worn by Johnny (13) and Matthew (21). Throughout the observed silence, a video of Gaudreau played on a screen high above the city.
When the silence lifted, a fan tried to start a “Johnny Hockey” chant. It started to get legs before a bagpipe wailed to the tune of “Amazing Grace.”
Fans stood motionless for a few minutes after the program ended, their candles now melted down to a nub. As they turned to leave, the headquarters of the Nationwide insurance company — a high-rise building just across the street from the arena — had “CBJ #13” illuminated on the side of the building.
(Aaron Portzline / The Athletic)
“It’s obviously a difficult time for all of us, each one of you included,” Waddell said. “We have a special group of people in this organization, a special group of players. Along with you, we will get through this together.”
Similar sentiments were expressed in Calgary, where thousands of fans participated in a candlelight vigil outside Scotiabank Saddledome, most of them in red and white Flames jerseys and many of them wearing Gaudreau’s No. 13. Moments before the vigil began, fans chanted “Johnny!” in honor of the forward who spent nine seasons as a Flame before joining the Blue Jackets in 2022.
A handful of Flames players, including captain Mikael Backlund, were in attendance along with general manager Craig Conroy, president and CEO Robert Hayes, team legends Lanny McDonald and Jarome Iginla, and members of Flames ownership.
“He carried this big hockey town on his small frame, and we always moved to the edge of our seats as he raced up the wing in anticipation of a yet another goal or another brilliant setup,” McDonald said. “A hero to so many young kids across Calgary. They saw themselves in him, his passion, his dedication. He was proof. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”
(Julian McKenzie / The Athletic)
Backlund was among those who shared personal stories of Johnny Gaudreau while also expressing condolences to his family. The Swedish forward was also “thankful” that he spent time with Gaudreau this summer at former teammate Andrew Mangiapane’s wedding. Backlund remembered Gaudreau as a quiet teammate who enjoyed wearing comfortable clothes, such as sweatpants, boots and beanies, before stepping onto the ice and being “dominant” in practice. Gaudreau showed off his skill with his vision, dangles and dekes, sometimes at the expense of the future Flames leader. But Backlund also had prime viewing of Gaudreau at his best in a Flames uniform.
“Johnny always had a smile in his face, on and off the ice. I’m going to miss that smile,” Backlund said.
Conroy was months into his new role as assistant to then-Flames GM Jay Feaster when the team drafted Gaudreau in 2011. He was surprised at the youngster’s diminutive size — he once remarked at how small Gaudreau was compared to the backpack he wore two days after being drafted — and noted Gaudreau’s penchant for eating Skittles. Conroy remembered taking six hours to convince Gaudreau to sign his entry-level contract to join the Flames after his third season at Boston College, only for Gaudreau to say that he wanted to spend another season at BC to play alongside his brother, Matthew.
“In reality, he told me after that he didn’t even register for classes, so we were going to be good to go,” Conroy said.
Just like Backlund and many other Flames teammates and fans, Conroy was enamored with Gaudreau’s talent. He knew Gaudreau would turn into a “special” player from his first night in the NHL, a night when he also scored his first goal, against the Vancouver Canucks.
“Over the next nine years, I had the privilege, front row, watching him go from a young boy mature into an NHL superstar,” Conroy said. “But more importantly, (he) grew into a wonderful man, son, husband and father.
At sunset, there was a 13-minute vigil for the Gaudreaus. Fans used flashlights on their phones and shed tears during the lengthy moment of silence.
A portion of the candlelight vigil for Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau at the Saddledome tonight. pic.twitter.com/kmr8hYR3l3
— Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) September 5, 2024
The Flames will keep the fan-made memorial outside of the Saddledome for the next 13 days as part of the team’s observance of the memory of Johnny and Matthew.
(Top photo: Aaron Portzline / The Athletic)