Columbus Blue Jackets all-star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother were killed Thursday night when they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey, police said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother, Matt, 29, are Carneys Point, New Jersey, natives and were scheduled to be groomsmen at their sister Katie's wedding that was scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.
New Jersey State Police said the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving an SUV in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind about 8 p.m., less than a half-hour after sunset. They were pronounced dead on the scene.
Police said the driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was jailed at the Salem County Correctional Facility.
According to the criminal complaint obtained by The Associated Press, Higgins told a responding officer he had five or six beers prior to the crash and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving. He failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said, though his blood-alcohol level was not immediately available.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68.25 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
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“Just devastating news for all of us connected with the Gaudreau family,” Jerry York, who coached the Gaudreau brothers at Boston College, said in a phone interview with the AP. “Both Matty and Johnny were terrifically admired by all of us. Wonderful young guys, and they impressed a lot of us off the ice."
York raved about parents Guy and Jane and the family's dedication to their children and hockey. Gaudreau had been married to his wife, Meredith, since 2021, and they have two children under 2, Noa, who was born in September 2022, and Johnny, who was born in February.
“We want to let everyone know we are receiving your messages of love and support, and we appreciated your continued thoughts and prayers,” an uncle, Jim Gaudreau, in a statement on behalf of the families involved. “We ask for your continued respect and privacy during this very difficult period of grief.”
Fans laid flowers and hockey sticks for Gaudreau outside Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus. Tributes reverberated near and far, with moments of silence occurring in Cincinnati before a Major League Baseball game between the Reds and Milwaukee Brewers and prior to an Olympic qualifying hockey game between Slovakia and Hungary in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava.
The Blue Jackets said Gaudreau “was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend.”
“Johnny played the game with great joy which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice. He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played,” the team said in a statement.
Gaudreau, at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, was part of a generation of hockey players who thrived in an era of speed and skill that made being undersized less of a disadvantage. He scored 20-plus goals six times and was a 115-point player in 2021-22 as a first-time NHL All-Star when he had a career-best 40 goals and 75 assists.
“While Johnny’s infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname ‘Johnny Hockey,’ he was more than just a dazzling hockey player; he was a doting father and beloved husband, son, brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have crossed his path,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.
NHL Players' Association executive director Marty Walsh said players and staff were devastated by these losses, calling Johnny “a beloved teammate and friend in both Calgary and Columbus (and) a joy to watch during his 10 years and 763 games in the NHL.”
A fourth-round pick by Calgary in 2011, Gaudreau had helped Boston College win the NCAA championship in 2012 and took home the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the country in 2014 — a season he and his brother played together for the Terriers.
As a professional, Gaudreau was part of the NHL all-rookie team during his first season in the league and was third in voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2014-15.
Gaudreau was a point-a-game player with 642 points in 644 regular-season and playoff games since breaking into the league. In 2022, he left the Flames to sign a big contract with the Blue Jackets that put him and his young family in central Ohio, closer to his family in New Jersey.
Social media was full of messages about Gaudreau, from USA Hockey to the Flames and beyond the sport itself.
Former Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said, "I am deeply saddened by the news I received late last night. R.I.P. Johnny and Matthew, fine young men with beautiful family that seemed so close…gone way too soon. My condolences to the Gaudreau family and strength in their sorrow. This is devastating."
Former Flames teammate Blake Coleman posted that he was “completely gutted. The world just lost one of the best.” Retired goaltender Eddie Lack called Gaudreau one of his favorite teammates.
“Always happy, always spreading positivity around him," Lack said. "Rest in Peace my friend and prayers for your wonderful family."
NBA superstar LeBron James, who is from Akron, Ohio, said he instantly got sad after seeing the news.
“My thoughts and prayers goes out to the Gaudreau family,” James said. “May Johnny and Matthew fly high, guide/guard and bless their family/s from the heavens above.”
In international play, Gaudreau owns the men’s world championship records by a U.S. player with 30 assists and 43 points.
Gaudreau’s death is the latest off-ice tragedy to strike the organization in the past few years. Goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died in July 2021 when he was struck in the chest by a firework while attending the wedding of then-Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace’s daughter in Michigan.
The team is now left to deal with another unexpected loss three weeks before training camps around the league begin.
“We will miss him terribly and do everything that we can to support his family and each other through this tragedy,” the Blue Jackets said.