Gaudreau memorial continues to grow at Saddledome
Published
The Johnny Gaudreau memorial continued to grow Sunday in downtown Calgary, with dozens of people showing up to the Saddledome to remember Gaudreau and his younger brother, Matthew.
TSN's Salim Valji reports hundreds of tribute messages were written in chalk near the memorial on the steps outside the Flames' arena.
Fans created the memorial after news became official Friday morning, leaving flowers, sticks, signs, candy and purple Gatorade in memory of their former star winger, who played for the Flames from 2014 to 2022.
The Gaudreau brothers were struck by a car and killed Thursday evening while riding their bicycles in their home state of New Jersey. The Carneys Point, N.J., natives were in the area for their sister Katie's wedding scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.
According to police, the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind. They were pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the driver, Sean M. Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto and jailed at the Salem County Correctional Facility.
Hundreds of public tributes and messages have poured in for the brothers since, including from their family, dozens of teammates, Wayne Gretzky, LeBron James, and many more.
“Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours,” Meredith Gaudreau said in a post Saturday that was accompanied by several photos of the couple. “I love you so, so much. You were perfect. Some days it felt too good to be true. I love every single thing about you. You are my forever and I can’t wait to be with you again. I love you so much forever and ever.”
Johnny Gaudreau, who was 31, played the first nine seasons of his career with the Flames before joining the Columbus Blue Jackets as a free agent in the summer of 2022. His younger brother Matthew was 29.