Joint funeral for Johnny, Matthew Gaudreau set for next week
Posted Sep 5, 2024 2:25 pm.
Last Updated Sep 5, 2024 7:09 pm.
A joint funeral for Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau will be held Monday, not far from where the pair grew up.
The service is slated to start at 10 a.m. MT, at St. Magdalen Catholic Church in suburban Philadelphia.
It will be streamed live on CityNews 24/7.
Fans in Calgary gathered outside the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday night for a candelight vigil to honour the brothers. For 13 minutes upwards of 10,000 jersey-clad fans stood at the west stairs of the arena, holding their cell phones aloft with virtual candlelight flickering on the screens.
A memorial has continued to grow daily outside the Saddledome since the death of the brothers was confirmed on Friday. Fans have laid out jerseys, hats, flowers handwritten notes, bags of Skittles candy and bottles of purple Gatorade, to honour longtime Flame Johnny.
The two were killed six days earlier by a suspected drunk driver the night before their sister’s wedding while cycling on a rural New Jersey road, near where the pair grew up.
Columbus Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell, and four of Johnny’s teammates spoke to reporters Wednesday to share their feelings about the 31-year-old before a nighttime candlelight vigil.
Affectionately known as “Johnny Hockey,” Johnny Gaudreau starred over parts of nine seasons with the Calgary Flames before joining the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022.’
One of Gaudreau’s most memorable moments as a Flame came on May 15, 2022, when he scored the Game 7 overtime winner to help Calgary eliminate the Dallas Stars in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
