"Everything he did was for his family": Johnny Gaudreau's widow Meredith recalls late CBJ star playing hockey for his family members

Modified Oct 10, 2024 05:03 GMT

Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s tragic death in a road accident in August left the hockey community heartbroken. The brothers were family men and prioritized their loved ones above all else.

Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of Johnny Gaudreau, took to Instagram to honor her husband’s dedication to his family. A fan shared an old clip of Johnny discussing how much his family meant to him.

Meredith reposted the clip on her Instagram stories. In the caption, she wrote:

“Everything he did was for his family. Couldn’t have asked for a more loving and selfless guy”

Meredith IG post (via meredithgaudreau_/Instagram)

In another story she reposted BR Open Ice’s post where the NHLonTNT panel, including Wayne Gretzky and Paul Bissonnette, shared stories celebrating the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.

“He was so perfect,” Meredith wrote in the caption. “I will never stop being so grateful to have been his wife, and I'll never stop feeling like the luckiest girl in the world for that. I love you John so much.”

NHL on TNT panel recall Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s legacy

On Wednesday, the NHL on TNT panel reminisced the Gaudreau brothers' memory to honor their legacy. Paul Bissonnet talked about how Johnny Gaudreau represented everything good about the sport and the community.

“We can talk about his legacy will live on forever, him and his brother, right? Just because of the impact he had on the ice, but more importantly, off the ice. And that keeps being said over and over,” Bissonnette said.

“And you think of a smaller player who was counted out time and time again, you think that they might have like a chip on their shoulder and be bitter about that, but he would show up and just work, work and work to get to the next level and impress everybody.”

He pointed out that people keep mentioning how Johnny’s kindness and character touched everyone around him:

“And he did it with such class and grace. And I didn't know him well, super well, and I know him from other guys, but all you just heard about the smiles that he brought to the locker room and the way he carried himself, and also the way that he treated the fans and the people in the community, even from like Uber Eats drivers saying how nice he was to them when he came up to the door.”

Wayne Gretzky reflected on how, despite the battles and rivalries in hockey, players come together in times of tragedy.

“And I thought many times how difficult it is for the entire family, the mom and dad and the sister, the wives and the kids. It's just one of those horrible scenarios,” Gretzky said.

Gretzky praised the Philadelphia Flyers for inviting Johnny’s father to coach for a day and appreciated the gesture.

“And, you know, one of the things that makes our game great are the people who are in it, and I thought what the Flyers did in inviting his dad down to coach for a day. I thought that it just showed how classy hockey is. It was such a cool moment for his dad. It's never going to replace his boys, but it was something special,” he said.

Drawing from his own experience of losing his teammate Don Ashby in a car crash in 1980, Gretzky mentioned that such tragedies are something one never gets over and all you can do is hope they never happen again.