NHL player Johnny Gaudreau was killed Thursday night when he was hit by a car while riding a bicycle in his home state of New Jersey. He was 31.
New Jersey State Police said Gaudreau was one of two cyclists struck and killed by a car in Salem County, N.J. Gaudreau’s younger brother, Matthew, 29, was the other victim in the crash, police confirmed.
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.
Columbus Blue Jackets statement on the passing of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew. <a href=”https://t.co/V2aFykgKIs”>pic.twitter.com/V2aFykgKIs</a>
—@BlueJacketsNHL
Johnny Gaudreau leaves behind two young children and his wife Meredith.
The NHL released a statement from commissioner Gary Bettman about Gaudreau’s passing, saying that “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.”
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” has played 11 professional seasons in the league and was going into his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played his first nine with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favourite across North America.
WATCH | Gaudreau killed by vehicle while biking in New Jersey:
NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, a 31-year-old forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and his younger brother Matthew were killed Thursday night when they were hit by a car while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey.
He was the face of the Flames, scoring 210 goals and adding 399 assists in 602 regular-season games over eight seasons.
Gaudreau left the Flames in free agency after the 2021-22 season, citing a desire to be closer to home, and signed a seven-year contract worth $68.25 million US deal with Columbus.
“Completely gutted. The world just lost one of the best,” Flames forward Blake Coleman posted on the social media site X. “RIP Johnny.”
In a 2022 article in The Players’ Tribune, Gaudreau called leaving Calgary “the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make.”
WATCH | Gaudreau lifts Flames to 2022 1st-round series win in Game 7:
Johnny Gaudreau scored in the opening frame of overtime to hand Calgary a 3-2 win over Dallas, winning the series 4-3
Thrived in era of speed and skill
“I still thought about going back and trying to work on a seven-year deal to stay,” he wrote. “It was all on the table for the entire process.
“Maybe that seems messy, but life is messy, you know?”
Gaudreau, at five-foot-nine 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.
“It’s with great sadness, we mourn the tragic deaths of our friend Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau,” the Flames said in a statement.
“Our hearts are broken by this devastating loss. Johnny was and always will be a member of the Flames family and loved by all of Calgary.”
A fourth-round pick by the Flames in 2011, Gaudreau helped Boston College win the NCAA championship in 2012 and in 2014 took home the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the country.
As a professional, Gaudreau finished 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.
He holds the men’s world championship records by a U.S. player with 30 assists and 43 points, earlier this year breaking marks previously held by Patrick Kane.
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.