Johnny Gaudreau and his parents in April 2022.
Calgary Flames/X
NEED TO KNOW
Guy and Jane Gaudreau share four children, including NHL star Johnny and professional ice hockey player Matthew
The brothers were killed by an allegedly drunk driver while biking in 2024
The parents have honored their late sons through multiple charity efforts
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s parents, Guy and Jane, have continued to honor and preserve their late sons’ legacies.
The professional ice hockey players were killed in a biking accident on Aug. 29, 2024, in Oldsman Township, N.J. They were home for their sister’s wedding and out on an evening ride when Sean. M. Higgins fatally hit them while trying to pass another car.
He was charged with two counts of death by auto and two counts of aggravated manslaughter, along with additional charges, and was suspected of having been driving under the influence. In January 2025, Higgins pleaded not guilty, and his trial is expected to move forward.
Matthew and Johnny were survived by their parents, two sisters and their own growing families. Johnny and his wife, Meredith, had welcomed two children and were expecting their third, and Matthew’s widow, Madeline, was pregnant with their first child when he died.
Madeline welcomed their son, Tripp Matthew, four months after their tragic deaths, and Meredith gave birth to her and Johnny’s son, Carter, in April 2025.
Jane has expressed how good a dad both of her late sons would have been to their newborn children.
In an Instagram post honoring Johnny’s birthday in August 2025, she wrote that she knew Carter would share “many of the same beautiful qualities” as his father, and on Matthew’s birthday in December 2025, she wrote on Instagram that Tripp is “so much” like him and that they “tell him stories about you all the time.”
Here’s everything to know about Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s parents, Guy and Jane.
Guy was a hockey coach and introduced his sons to the sport
Guy Gaudreau throws out the first pitch on May 27, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mitchell Leff/Getty
The ice hockey players grew up in the rink, thanks to their dad. Guy worked as the hockey director of their hometown arena and started bringing his sons to the rink when they were toddlers.
“When he was 2 years old, I’d bring him out and he’d just kinda putz around,” he told the Calgary Herald in October 2014 of Johnny. “I coached all the kids and they loved Skittles. Johnny was no different. So I’d tell the guy, ‘Put a Skittle five feet in front of him.’ So he’d have to skate to it. He’d get there, bend over, pick it up and then skate to the next one. And the next.”
Guy coached Johnny as a kid, and the hockey star told the Canadian outlet that his dad “meant so much” to his game.
“When it came down to being a coach, he was a good coach,” Johnny said. “When it came to being a father, a dad, he put the hockey stuff aside. And that’s what helped me become a better player, I think. That separation.”
Jane works at a private special education school
Johnny Gaudreau and his mom Jane in March 2018.
Johnny Gaudreau/Instagram
Johnny and Matthew’s mother has spent her career working at Archbishop Damiano School, the same South Jersey special needs school where her mother worked.
Jane told FOX 29 Philadelphia in May 2025 that her brother was disabled and attended the school, and her late sons volunteered there. Her daughters also spent time working there.
They have four children
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau with their family in June 2017.
Johnny Gaudreau/Instagram
Guy and Jane welcomed two sons and two daughters throughout their marriage: Matthew, Johnny, Kristen and Katie. Johnny — who was known throughout the NHL circuit as “Johnny Hockey” — was born on Aug. 13, 1993, in Salem, N.J., with Matthew following just a year later on Dec. 5, 1994.
Like their parents, Johnny’s sisters also honor their late brothers by focusing on the good times they shared together.
“It’s great to keep their memories alive,” Kristen Venello told the Associated Press in April 2025. “It is sad. But you think about all the good things they did and that’s all you can think about. And how much they can help us still.”
Guy and Jane are grandparents
Johnny and Meredith Gaudreau with their children.
Meredith Gaudreau/Instagram
Outside of charity work, Guy and Jane have also dedicated themselves to spending time with their many grandchildren — including two who were born after their sons’ fatal accident.
Jane described to the Associated Press how Tripp has Matthew’s light hair, and Carter looks so much like Johnny.
“My husband keeps saying this,” she said, ”‘I think God sent us John and Matty back.‘ ”
Jane started a 5K in honor of their sons
Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Gaudreau.
Johnny Gaudreau/Instagram
In May 2025, Jane created a 5K event in honor of Johnny and Matthew to raise money for a new playground at her school.
“I’m just hoping that the boys will be looking down and just be so happy that we’re doing something like this in their honor,” she told FOX 29 Philadelphia at the time. “I know they’d be proud.”
ESPN reported in August 2025 that the Gaudreau Family 5K raised over $500,000, which was enough to break ground on the school’s new playground later that year.
They attended the 2026 Winter Olympics, where the USA men’s hockey team honored their late sons
Jane and Guy Gaudreau during the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Stephen Whyno/AP Photo
Jane and Guy attended the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics to cheer on the USA men’s hockey team — which Johnny likely would have been a part of had he not died in 2024.
“Representing Team USA at the Olympics was one of his greatest dreams,” the family shared in a statement on Instagram. “While it breaks our hearts that John won’t be there to live out that dream, we know he will be so very present with Team USA and all of his close friends competing throughout these games.”
When Team USA won the gold medal against Canada on Feb. 22, the players brought out two of the late NHL star’s young children onto the ice to celebrate while holding their dad’s jersey.
Read the original article on People