Fans in Columbus paid tribute to late Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau on Friday, leaving flowers and memorabilia outside Nationwide Arena in the wake of his tragic passing.
Photos on social media captured a growing memorial outside of the Blue Jackets’ home arena as the NHL community mourns the deaths of Gaudreau and his younger brother, Matthew, who were struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver while bicycling in New Jersey on Thursday evening ahead of sister Katie’s Friday wedding.
“Fans have started a Memorial at the entrance. Flowers, hats and a hockey stick laid so far. Would expect much more as fans will come pay their respects to Johnny Hockey,” Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writer posted Friday on X.
X user @eliweisblat15 shared a separate image featuring a red Blue Jackets hat and a hockey stick beside bouquets of blooms a single flower.
Follow the NY Post’s coverage on NHL star Johnny Gaudreau’s tragic death at 31:
Flowers were also laid at a roadside memorial at the site of the crash in Oldmans Township, NJ on Friday.
Gaudreau spent the past two years in Columbus after nine seasons with the Calgary Flames, who selected him with the 104th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft out of Boston College.
He was 31 years old.
“The Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy. Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend,” the team said in a statement Friday.
The Blue Jackets extended their sympathies to Gaudreau’s wife, Meredith, and their two children, Noa and Johnny.
The couple tied the knot in September 2021.
“At this time, we ask for prayers for the Gaudreau family and that their privacy be respected as they grieve,” the statement concluded.
Gaudreau and Matthew, 29, were riding bikes close to the side of County Route 551 in Oldsman Township N.J., when they were hit.
The siblings succumbed to their injuries, according to authorities, and Sean Higgins of Woodstown, N.J., has been charged with two counts of death by auto.
He allegedly relayed to a trooper that he had “five to six beers,” per the police affidavit obtained by ABC6 Philadelphia.
Katie’s wedding has been canceled following tragic events, a church official confirmed to TMZ on Friday.