Johnny Gaudreau put family first, never forgot roots even as NHL career blossomed

Johnny Gaudreau was finally home in New Jersey, the NHL star with show-stopping skills back again this week for a big assist for his family as groomsman in the wedding of baby sister Katie.

Little brother Matthew was part of the wedding party, too. So was the eldest of the four Gaudreau siblings, sister Kristen, the maid of honor. All were looking ahead to one more glorious day in a life seemingly filled with them as the first family of hockey in South Jersey.

The wedding was set for Friday at a Catholic church in New Jersey. Tragedy came the night before when Johnny, 31, and Matt, 29, died after they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in the Delaware River country south of Philadelphia, police said.

The wedding was put off in a hurricane of grief and shock. Far beyond the rink, the siblings had been as intertwined as any family could be, united like they were smiling in the upper deck of a 2014 Philadelphia Phillies game. Or at a Boston College hockey game from earlier that same year, when the two brothers played for the Eagles.

Katie Gaudreau's Instagram page is dotted with photos of the siblings goofing off at games, posing next to a Christmas tree, enjoying a day at the New Jersey shore -- snapshots of a tight-knit family whose bond stretched far beyond memories cheering on Johnny and his rise to NHL stardom with Calgary and Columbus.

Fans called him "Johnny Hockey," a moniker earned for his infectious spirit for the game and eye-popping skills. On NHL rosters, he was simply Johnny Gaudreau.

And on that wedding party list, he was just John Gaudreau. Little Johnny Gaudreau, all of 7 months old, was set to be a ring bearer along sister Noa, who turns 2 in October. She was to be a flower girl for her aunt.

Now there would be no reception or after party in Philadelphia, the city whose teams Johnny rooted for even into adulthood; he once told reporters at an NHL All-Star game once he still rocked a “ lime-green ” beanie in the winter of his support for the Eagles.

Philly hockey fans yearned for years for Gaudreau to come back and play for the Flyers, always hoping he would sign a free-agent deal or for management to acquire him in a trade. His home state Devils even thought they had Gaudreau only for him to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets two years ago.

"I felt that we were going to be a destination for him," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said.

The idea of playing for the Flyers always held some appeal for Gaudreau, whose parents, Guy and Jane, moved the family from Vermont to New Jersey before the boys were born.

"I have a ton of family here, all my friends," Gaudreau told a Philadelphia sports radio station in 2017. "All my good friends and kids who I have played with all my life are from South Jersey, so it would be sweet to play here someday."

The tug came harder after his father's heart attack in 2018. After eight full seasons in Calgary, he decided to return to the U.S., not in New Jersey or Philadelphia but with Columbus.

"As much as I love hockey … family is everything to me," he wrote in The Players' Tribune. "It's the most important connection I have. And a few years ago, I think I started to realize how much you sacrifice when you give 100% to your career. I felt like I needed to do more to center my family in my life after we experienced some hard times."

Columbus was more of a fit for his growing family — where perhaps he could walk downtown in anonymity — rather than the ticket and autograph demands, the friends who wanted just a few minutes before the game, the good times often overwhelmed by the distracting pull of playing for one of the hometown teams.

"I always said I wanted to play closer to home, but [Columbus] isn't too close to where I would get bombarded with friends and family nonstop," Gaudreau said on the "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast in 2022. "[It's] basically an open-door policy [where you] come in whenever you want. That's kind of how we are down the Shore, but if we did it all year, I think it would have gotten a little out of hand at times."

Gaudreau, though, remained true to his South Jersey roots. He supported area youth hockey programs, including the 43 Oak Foundation, which focuses on furthering education through the sport of ice hockey for underprivileged and diverse youth.

"Johnny, you are a core reason we have been able to get to where we are today as a foundation," the foundation wrote on Instagram. "Spending time with the kids. Vocalizing your opinions on changing the game. You will be surely missed."

In tribute to both brothers — Matthew played in the American Hockey League — the statement said it would "keep the sticks out at the door step."

Gaudreau had hosted a golf tournament in New Jersey to raise money toward scholarships at Gloucester Catholic High School, which he attended and was a centerpiece for the family. Matt coached the Gloucester Catholic hockey team, a program his father helped found, and the brothers and Katie were all graduates.

Gaudreau's last trip home should have been one to savor for all the right reasons. Dances and toasts. Pictures in front of Philly landmarks. Maybe even a late-night cheesesteak run — both Gaudreau and the expected bride and groom were "team Geno's!"

What's left instead for those who knew him, who chanted for "Johnny Hockey," is sadness for a family forever shattered.