Gaudreau's widow shares heartfelt thoughts in Father's Day tribute
Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of Johnny Gaudreau, penned a touching Father's Day tribute to the late NHL all-star and father of her three children.
Article content
The piece, which was published on The Players' Tribune on Thursday, also revealed her initial reaction to learning about the tragedy that befell Johnny and his brother Matthew Gaudreau last August.
Article content
The brothers, who were in their hometown of Salem, N.J., for their sister's wedding, were biking on the evening of Aug. 29, 2024, in nearby Oldmans Township when they were mowed down by a vehicle that was allegedly being operated by an impaired driver.
Article content
'Katie (Gaudreau) called and she said something had happened, but she didn't know what exactly. My dad drove me over to your parents and I was thinking the whole time about how I was going to help you through whatever it could be that had happened to Matty. And then I walked up the front porch and learned the absolute worst had happened and that it was both of you,' Meredith wrote as if addressing a letter to Johnny.
Article content
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by The Players' Tribune (@playerstribune)
Article content
Article content
'I was in shock. I was keeled over for days sick to my stomach. It's completely indescribable. The only person who can relate to me is my own sister-in-law. I see her and my heart breaks for her. I'm sick for her.
Article content
'We had just celebrated their gender reveal. We were all just down the shore together and had so much fun. Matty made me laugh so much that weekend.
Article content
'I thought of our baby inside of me. I couldn't stand up. I was awake and having nightmares. Thinking of you in that moment. Thinking of Matty. It's just the worst thing I could have ever imagined.
Article content
Article content
In the touching tribute, Meredith also shares stories about meeting the former Flames star, their wedding and the family's move to Columbus, Ohio, after he signed with the Blue Jackets before the 2022-23 season.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
22 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
Abbotsford Canucks Live: Game 1 of AHL Calder Cup final vs. Charlotte
The Vancouver Canucks haven't had an AHL affiliate advance to the league final since the Utica Comets in 2015. Now they have two. The Abbotsford Canucks skated past the Texas Stars on Sunday to make the AHL's championship round, which begins Friday in Charlotte, N.C., against the Checkers, the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers. Yes, those same Florida Panthers who are now battling the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup. Talk about a strong organization. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. For the Canucks, this season has been about growth and about the coach. Manny Malhotra had a good reputation as an assistant coach coming into the season but he'd never run a bench as the head coach. Clearly he was more than ready. This Abbotsford team plays smart, hard-working hockey. It's not filled with stars, AHL squads rarely are, but the guys leading the way may yet have an NHL future. Malhotra has seen Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson top the scoring table and it's not accident: both have shown promise as hard-working checkers at the NHL level, the very essence of players who 'play the right way.' AHL games can be chaotic — it's the reality of a league with a broad range of skill quality — so players like when players like Bains and Karlsson, who bring efficiency and focus to the ice, thrive in this environment, it's a good sign for them. They're unlikely to be stars at the NHL level but they could prove to be dependable NHL depth forwards. You also don't get this far without standout performances on the blue-line and both Vincent Mancini and Kirill Kudryavtsev have shown why they remain on the NHL club's radar: to make the NHL you have to be able to play quicker and smarter than your AHL peers and both have done so. The trick is converting that to the even faster NHL game. Charlotte, on the other hand, are led by a quintet of veteran players, some of whom are familiar: John Leonard is an AHL veteran, but Jesse Puljujärvi is a busted NHL prospect. Will Lockwood came up with the Canucks but has been in the Florida system for the past two seasons. Rasmus Asplund is another AHL veteran with lots of NHL experience. Defenceman Mike Benning, is Jim Benning's son and at 23 may yet make an impact at the NHL level but is obviously playing for an organization that's deep on the blue-line. FloHockey is offering a free stream on YouTube for Game 1, you can watch below: Also, scroll down for the play-by-play updates from tonight's game. Be sure to hit the refresh button for the latest update. Watch this space for updates when the game starts at 4 p.m. More to come …
National Post
31 minutes ago
- National Post
Calvin Pickard's mission for Oilers is simple: Save the day
Your mission, should you choose to accept it Calvin, is to save the day. Article content Yeah, it did seem like Mission Impossible, with the Florida Panthers' hands around the Edmonton Oilers ' throats, that a simple goalie change after 20 listless minutes, from Stu Skinner to Calvin Pickard, was going to stop Edmonton's Stanley Cup hopes from slipping away in Game 4. Article content But here we are today, the Oilers very much alive, tied 2-2. Article content Skinner hadn't done anything wrong, making 14 saves, some of them 10-bellers, in that first period Thursday, but desperate times called for not-so desperate measures, as it turns out. Pickard, as he's done over and over in this two-month fairytale run, simply refuses to lose. He's now in the same sentence with Grant Fuhr, Billy Ranford and Dwayne Roloson in the Oiler history books, goalies who were 7-0 or better in a single post-season for this club. Article content Pretty good company. Article content Pickard, who had won six straight starts in the Los Angeles and Vegas series, hadn't played significant minutes in a playoff game since Game 2 of the second-round matchup with the Golden Knights when Tomas Hertl fell on the back of the goalie's leg. As he recovered, he became Skinner's cheerleader and it was still a loud 'Stuuu' until the No. 2 helped rescue the Oilers to personally go to 7-0. Article content Pickard stopped 22 of 23 shots over the last 51:28, with only the one blemish by Sam Reinhart with 20 seconds left in regulation and Sergei Bobrovsky pulled for an extra skater, soiling a clean-sheet relief job. Article content So, it'll be Stick With Pick for Game 5 Saturday night at Rogers Place. Article content Skinner has still never lost a playoff Game 4. He's 6-0 lifetime. Article content But this time the calm, moustachioed, ball-capped Skinner, watched from the end of the bench as Pickard robbed Anton Lundell on a breakaway after a Jake Walman giveaway when Panthers could have gone up 4-1 11 minutes into the middle period. He maybe fist-pumped when his partner slid across to stop Aaron Ekblad in the dying seconds of the second, on a Florida PP, with the game tied 3-3. Then in the OT, Pickard got a piece of his mitt on Sam Bennett's shot from the high slot, all alone, and the puck crashed off the iron, and seconds later, stopped Eetu Luostarinen off his shoulder. Article content 'Pickard was really good and Stu wasn't bad at all,' said Fuhr, watching it unfold from his southern California home, 'but sometimes you have to realize that changing the goalie can wake up the team.'
National Post
32 minutes ago
- National Post
Abbotsford Canucks Live: Game 1 of AHL Calder Cup final vs. Charlotte
The Vancouver Canucks haven't had an AHL affiliate advance to the league final since the Utica Comets in 2015. Now they have two. Article content The Abbotsford Canucks skated past the Texas Stars on Sunday to make the AHL's championship round, which begins Friday in Charlotte, N.C., against the Checkers, the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers. Yes, those same Florida Panthers who are now battling the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup. Article content Article content Article content Talk about a strong organization. Article content For the Canucks, this season has been about growth and about the coach. Manny Malhotra had a good reputation as an assistant coach coming into the season but he'd never run a bench as the head coach. Clearly he was more than ready. Article content This Abbotsford team plays smart, hard-working hockey. It's not filled with stars, AHL squads rarely are, but the guys leading the way may yet have an NHL future. Article content Malhotra has seen Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson top the scoring table and it's not accident: both have shown promise as hard-working checkers at the NHL level, the very essence of players who 'play the right way.' Article content AHL games can be chaotic — it's the reality of a league with a broad range of skill quality — so players like when players like Bains and Karlsson, who bring efficiency and focus to the ice, thrive in this environment, it's a good sign for them. They're unlikely to be stars at the NHL level but they could prove to be dependable NHL depth forwards. Article content Article content You also don't get this far without standout performances on the blue-line and both Vincent Mancini and Kirill Kudryavtsev have shown why they remain on the NHL club's radar: to make the NHL you have to be able to play quicker and smarter than your AHL peers and both have done so. The trick is converting that to the even faster NHL game. Article content Charlotte, on the other hand, are led by a quintet of veteran players, some of whom are familiar: John Leonard is an AHL veteran, but Jesse Puljujärvi is a busted NHL prospect. Will Lockwood came up with the Canucks but has been in the Florida system for the past two seasons. Rasmus Asplund is another AHL veteran with lots of NHL experience. Defenceman Mike Benning, is Jim Benning's son and at 23 may yet make an impact at the NHL level but is obviously playing for an organization that's deep on the blue-line. Article content Article content Article content
