Matthew Gaudreau's wife Madeline discloses special tattoo tributes for three-month-old son Tripp and late husband

Modified Apr 13, 2025 11:35 GMT

Since the death of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Gaudreau in a tragic road accident last year, the hockey community and their family have been honoring the siblings' legacies. On Saturday, Matthew Gaudreau’s wife, Madeline Gaudreau, shared a photo of the tattoos she got in memory of her late husband.

She posted a picture on Instagram, showing the back of her right arm, which had the number 21 inked just above the elbow. 21 was the jersey number that the winger wore during most parts of his career. The photo also showed the other tattoos that she had gotten.

A tattoo near her wrist had the letters 'MT,' which are the initials of her three-month-old son Tripp Matthew. Below this, there was a tattoo with the letters 'RM,' which are the first letters of her late husband's first and middle names, Matthew Ryan. Her arm was wrapped in protective film, indicating that the tattoos were recently completed.

“My Boys 🤍🦋,” Madeline Gaudreau captioned the post.

She also tagged the tattoo artist Brandon Adams on the photo. Matthew Gaudreau’s son Tripp was born in December last year. In August, brothers Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau were fatally hit by an allegedly drunk driver while they were cycling near their hometown in New Jersey.

Matthew Gaudreau’s wife and family were in attendance at Omaha Lancers' tribute night

Earlier this month, the Omaha Lancers paid a special tribute to the memory of Matthew Gaudreau, who played for the team from 2011 to 2013. The ceremony took place before their game against the Dubuque Fighting Saints on April 5.

Matthew Gaudreau’s wife, Madeline, attended the event with their son Tripp as well as Matthew’s parents. She shared a photo on Instagram from the night, on her Instagram stories showing herself in a black Lancers hoodie that had Matthew’s jersey number, 21, on the sleeve, while she held Tripp, who wore a light-colored onesie.

“My one and onlyyyy,” she wrote in the caption of the post

Before the game, the Lancers played a tribute video honoring the brothers. The Gaudreau family then took part in the ceremonial puck drop at center ice, and the arena held an 11-second moment of silence in honor of Matthew Gaudreau, who used to wear No. 11 for the team.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the industry. Having an educational background in Media Studies, she strives to present information in a clear and unbiased manner, so that all perspectives are considered and represented fairly.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

She is a self-taught musician, loves silversmithing and can be found at her workbench if she’s not watching or writing about sports.

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