Meredith Gaudreau paid tribute to her late husband Johnny in a heartbreaking Instagram post Saturday.
Johnny Gaudreau, who’d starred for the past 11 seasons in the NHL and was still in the prime of his career with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and his younger brother Matthew were killed Thursday by a suspected drunk driver. The siblings were riding bikes in Salem County, N.J., when they were struck by the motorist, who now faces multiple charges.
“Thank you for the best years of my life,” Meredith wrote. “Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours. I love you so so much. You were perfect. Some days it felt too good to be true. I love every single thing about you. You are my forever and I can’t wait to be with you again. I love you so much forever and ever.”
In a separate post, she shared several photos of Johnny with their two children, Noa and Johnny Jr. Both are under the age of two.
A couple of those snapshots appear to be from a celebration of her husband’s 31st birthday, which was Aug. 13.
“The absolute best dad in the world,” Meredith wrote. “So caring and loving. The best partner to go through parenthood with. John never missed a single appointment. Was the best at putting the baby to sleep and the apple of Noa’s eye. I love how much she looks like him. We are going to make you proud. We love you so so so much daddy.”
Johnny and Meredith were married in 2021, when he was skating for the Calgary Flames. The photo roll that she shared Saturday includes an image from the family skate at the 2019 Heritage Classic in Regina, where the Flames faced the Winnipeg Jets.
Since his death, there have been enough tears shed in Calgary to flood every hockey rink in the city.
A wide staircase on the west side of the Saddledome has become a memorial to the Gaudreau brothers, with fans leaving flowers and hockey sticks and bottles of purple Gatorade.
The Calgary Tower was illuminated on Friday night in Flames’ colours, while there was a ‘Johnny Hockey’ chant at the 13-minute mark of Cavalry FC’s home game against Valour.
Matthew Gaudreau, who played parts of five seasons in the AHL, ECHL and a pro league in Sweden and worked for the past two winters as a high-school hockey coach, was expecting his first child later this year.
A GoFundMe page was set up to support Matthew’s family, with the organizer writing: “In this unimaginably difficult time, we are coming together to support Matthew’s wife, Madeline and their growing baby Tripp, and help alleviate some of the financial burdens they now face.”
As of Saturday morning, that GoFundMe page had raised upwards of US$300,000. Hockey fans would recognize many of the names on the list of donors.