The Gaudreau family has made it to Calgary ahead of tomorrow night’s Flames game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It’s expected to be an emotional night as the two teams will meet in Calgary for the first time since Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by an alleged drunk driver over the summer.
Guy Gaudreau, the father of Johnny and Matthew, laced up the skates on Monday morning and hit the Saddledome ice for Flames practice. He was seen chatting with players, including goaltender Dan Vladar, who showed Guy his new mask design, which included tributes to the Gaudreau brothers.
“It was great to see him out there,” said Flames captain Mikael Backlund after the skate. “I was super excited when I heard they were coming here and [that] we were gonna honour Johnny.”
Welcome back Guy ❤️ pic.twitter.com/qNY2QpndCE
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) December 2, 2024
This wouldn’t be the first time Guy has practiced with an NHL team since the tragedy. He also joined the Philadelphia Flyers and the Blue Jackets earlier in the season for some skates.
The Flames flew the Gaudreau family to Calgary so that they could be involved in the game. Johnny spent the bulk of his NHL career playing with the Flames before signing with the Blue Jackets in the summer of 2022.
Though this is the first game between Gaudreau’s two clubs in Calgary since the tragedy, this is the second time the Flames and Blue Jackets have battled with one another this season. The first came last week in Columbus and was filled with tributes to the two brothers.
More tributes are expected to come when these two teams take to the ice on Tuesday night. It’s likely that the Gaudreau family, including Guy, will be involved in those tributes as well as former Flames forward, and now Blue Jackets player, Sean Monahan.
It’ll be another night when the final score won’t be the only thing fans, players, and coaches take away from the game.