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There wasn’t a dry eye on the faces of Team USA hockey fans yesterday—and it wasn’t just because the United States won their first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980. After an exciting, albeit stressful, overtime win against Canada, Team USA honored the late Johnny Gaudreau in the most touching way.
Gaudreau played 11 seasons in the NHL before he and his brother Matthew were tragically hit and killed by a drunk driver while riding bikes in August 2024. The former left winger for the Calgary Flames and later Columbus Blue Jackets is survived by his wife Meredith, who at the time was pregnant with their third baby.
Around the NHL, he was a beloved player known as “Johnny Hockey,” and likely would’ve been selected to play for Team USA in the 2026 Olympics. As such, the team made sure to honor him by hanging a Gaudreau jersey in the Team USA locker room throughout the entirety of the Games.
But the tributes didn’t stop there—after Jack Hughes scored Team USA’s overtime goal to defeat Canada 2-1 for the gold medal, the team also incorporated the memory of Gaudreau into their post-win celebration. Stars Auston Matthews, Dylan Larkin, and Matthew Tkachuk (who played six seasons with Gaudreau on the Flames) skated around the ice with a Gaudreau Team USA jersey as fans chanted “Johnny Hockey.”
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Shortly after, when the U.S. team lined up for a photo with their medals, Larkin and Zach Werenski (who played with Gaudreau on the Blue Jackets) went into the stands and brought out Gaudreau’s young kids, Johnny Jr. and Noa, to include them in some photos next to their dad’s jersey. “We saw them up there, and we wanted to get the whole family on, but it was kind of hard with the gate, so we figured we’d grab the kids,” Werenski said, according to ESPN.
Matthews also spoke about Gaudreau’s impact on many of the U.S. players, and how it felt like he was with them in spirit. “To be able to get it done like that, to win, to have his jersey out there in the team photo, have his kids come out and be with us, we’re obviously thinking of him,” Matthews said.
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Meredith was emotional in the stands, and later posted tons of photos of the tribute on her Instagram. She reposted a video of the players carrying her children out onto the ice, writing, “Means everything to me. I think John too most of all.” Meredith also posted a cute photo of their youngest, Carter, who notably missed the game, at home with the game on TV behind him. She wrote over the photo: “Carter!!!!!!!!!! I’m sooooo sorry I didn’t get you a passport yet!!!!”
The icing on the cake was that Sunday happened to be Johnny Jr.’s second birthday. “2-22 is baby Johnny’s birthday ⭐️ !! Special date picked by his daddy due to travel at the time❤️ Happy 2nd birthday to our baby Johnny boy! We love you so much 💙 ,” Meredith captioned the photo.
Katie Gaudreau, Johnny’s sister, reacted to the touching tribute today. “Team USA really went above and beyond,” she said on Fox & Friends, adding that she thought it would end there. “When they went and got Johnny [Jr.] on his second birthday, and Noa, it truly meant the world to us because, honestly, this is what John wanted for his children. He wanted them to experience these experiences, these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that he worked so hard for.”
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It’s clear that Gaudreau’s impact and memory will live on in the NHL (and beyond) forever. To learn more about the causes Johnny and Matthew supported during their lives, check out The John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation.
Addison Aloian is the associate health & fitness editor at Women’s Health, where she writes and edits across the health, weight loss, and fitness verticals. She’s also a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). In her free time, you can find her lifting weights at the gym, running on the West Side Highway in New York City—she recently completed her first marathon, the 2025 New York City Marathon—and watching (and critiquing!) the latest movies that have garnered Oscars buzz. In addition to Women’s Health, she’s made an appearance on the Oprah Podcast and her work has also appeared in Allure, StyleCaster, L’Officiel USA, V Magazine, VMAN, and more.