NHL player 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, Matthew, 29, are Carneys Point, N.J., 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. They were pronounced dead at 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 accident and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving. He failed a field sobriety test. His blood alcohol level was not immediately available.
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.”
USA Hockey said: “Words cannot appropriately express the sorrow the hockey community is feeling.”
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.
Longtime executive Brian Burke, who had Gaudreau in Calgary and with the U.S. national team, said it could not be overstated just what a joy it was to have him around.
“There are few players in hockey history who matched his passion and love for the game of hockey.” Burke said. “His talent on the ice was enhanced, not diminished, by the fact that he was having fun out there.”
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.
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
National Hockey League Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the passing of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau:
“The NHLPA joins the hockey community in mourning the tragic loss of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew. Johnny was a beloved teammate and friend in both Calgary and Columbus, and he was a joy to watch during his 10 years and 763 games in the NHL. He enjoyed a decorated college career at Boston College where he played together with his brother, Matthew, who also went on to play professional hockey in the AHL and ECHL.
“The players and staff of the NHLPA are devastated by these terrible losses. We express our sincerest condolences to the entire Gaudreau family — Johnny’s wife, Meredith, and their children, Noa and Johnny; Matthew’s wife, Madeline; their parents, Guy and Jane; and their sisters, Kristen and Katie.”
“Just devastating news for all of us connected with the Gaudreau family,” added 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.”
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.