Hockey sticks, jerseys and homemade signs were carefully removed from the steps of the Saddledome on Monday morning, as a 13-day observance to celebrate former Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau came to an end.
Calgarians created a makeshift memorial earlier this month, leaving items outside the Flames’ arena to honour the memory of the longtime face of the franchise and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau. The brothers were fatally injured in a collision while biking in their home state of New Jersey, in late August.
The memorial included signs and messages created by fans, as well as jerseys, hockey sticks, flowers, stuffed toys, purple Gatorade (which was Gaudreau’s drink of choice) and Skittles (which were given to him by his dad to motivate him as a young player).
On Monday morning, the memorial was carefully dismantled, with plans for what will be done with each of the items left by fans in Gaudreau’s memory.
Posters, signs, personal letters and messages, and chalk drawings were all photographed before being removed, to be compiled in a digital memory book from Flames fans for the Gaudreau family.
The hockey sticks left at the memorial will be repurposed for benches to be used in fundraising efforts for local charities. The benches will also have plaques reading “In memory of Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau.”
Similarly, the jerseys left by fans will be washed and used to design blankets that will be donated to local charities.
Stuffed toys made of cloth and cotton, like teddy bears, will be donated to the local charity Parachutes for Pets for its Lily and Dexter’s Legacy program, which was created by the family of Gaudreau’s former Flames teammate Mikael Backlund.
The sports drinks left at the memorial will be emptied and the containers donated to the KidSport Calgary recycling program. The bags of Skittles that fans placed at the site will be counted, and the Calgary Flames Foundation will make a commensurate financial contribution to the Calgary Food Bank.
Meanwhile, flowers left at the memorial will be composted, with soil deposited in the earth at community parks around the city. The memorial’s other remaining items will be reviewed after sorting.
Gaudreau played eight full seasons with the Flames beginning in 2014, before signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022. During his time in Calgary, Gaudreau totalled 609 points in 602 games, leading the team in scoring six times.