Columbus Blue Jackets reveal plans to honor Johnny Gaudreau during 2024-25 season
The Columbus Blue Jackets will wear a No. 13 jersey patch this season as part of their plans to honor and remember Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, who were killed by a suspected drunk driver in New Jersey last month.
On Wednesday, the Blue Jackets announced all fans who attend their home opener against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 15 will also receive a No. 13 patch. The club will also honor the Gaudreau brothers during the game and move its typical opening night activities to its Oct. 17 game against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Blue Jackets will also wear a sticker on their helmets honoring the Gaudreau brothers, beginning with their first preseason game on Monday and throughout the 2024-25 season.
Columbus released a photo of the sticker. It's blue with a gray trim and has "Gaudreau" with two doves between the brothers' jersey numbers. Johnny Gaudreau wore No. 13 throughout his career, while Matthew Gaudreau wore No. 21 at Boston College.
The team will also hold a moment of silence for the brothers during its first preseason home game against the St. Louis Blues next Wednesday, Sept. 25. Additionally, proceeds from the team's 50/50 raffle for all four preseason games and through the second intermission of the team's home opener will go toward the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation.
The Blue Jackets have not announced plans to retire Johnny Gaudreau's No. 13.
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were struck and killed in Salem County by 43-year-old Sean Higgins of Woodstown, New Jersey, on Aug. 29. Higgins allegedly tried to pass another when he hit the Gaudreau brothers, who were riding bicycles on County Route 551 in Oldsmann Township, according to police.
Last week, Higgins was ordered to remain in the Salem County Correctional Facility before a potential trial. Higgins was charged with two counts of death by auto and other offenses.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Higgins "stated that he had consumed approximately 5-6 beers prior to the accident."
Hundreds of family, friends and members of the hockey community remembered the Gaudreau brothers during a funeral at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Media, Delaware County, on Sept. 9. Meredith Gaudreau, Johnny's wife, and Madeline Gaudreau, Matthew's wife, each delivered emotional eulogies for their husbands.
On Sept. 4, the Blue Jackets remembered Johnny Gaudreau with a candlelight vigil outside Nationwide Arena. During a press conference earlier in the day, Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said his teammate's "positive energy day in and day out was infectious."
"We're really going to miss the way he made us laugh and smile on any given day, especially after a big win by his Eagles," Jenner said. "We'd hear about it for the next week."
Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield, who played with Johnny Gaudreau during the 2024 IIHF World Championships, announced earlier this month he was changing his number from No. 22 to No. 13 to honor his "hero."