“I was just really proud to be part of the city.”
Like the rest of the Calgary Flames and everyone in the hockey world, Blake Coleman has been grieving the loss of former teammate Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, who were killed by an alleged drunk driver while riding their bikes on Aug. 29.
And while that process of grief is ongoing, Coleman and the rest of the Flames have been able to take comfort in watching the way Calgary hockey fans have rallied to show their love and support for the Gaudreaus and their families.
The response was even more moving because fans had put aside any lingering animosity about Gaudreau’s decision to sign in free agency with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022 after a decade with the Flames.
It was bigger than hockey. Thousands of fans showed up at a candlelight vigil last week and a huge memorial of flowers, purple Gatorade, Skittles and memorabilia has been created by Calgarians on the steps of the Saddledome.
“I’m just proud of the response,” said Coleman, who attended the Gaudreau brothers funeral on Monday in Media, Pa., before flying back to be at the Calgary Flames Celebrity Charity Golf Classic. “The way things ended with Johnny here, people could have been bitter or had their reasons not to come and rally and support, but the city showed up in waves.
“I wasn’t in town yet (for the candlelight vigil), but watching it from afar, it was pretty beautiful to witness the amount of uplifting they were doing for the Gaudreau family and (Johnny’s wife) Meredith. It’s one of those things where you put your ego away and you realize life is much more important than sports.”
Every level of the Flames organization has been touched by the tragedy and support is being offered for players and staff alike. Healing will take time and grief can be unpredictable.
Flames captain Mikael Backlund, who played with Gaudreau throughout his entire time in Calgary, spoke candidly and movingly about his longtime teammate at last week’s candlelight vigil.
It was an incredibly difficult thing for Backlund to do, but like Coleman, he said there’s been comfort to be found in the way Flames fans have risen up in unison to support the family of the superstar who gave them so many incredible memories at the Saddledome.
“It was a beautiful night,” Backlund said of the vigil. “It was very hard, but it was beautiful to see so many people show up and show support for Johnny and his family and Matthew. It was beautiful to see everyone turn on their phones and their lights, I know a lot of people were upset when Johnny left but to just forget about that and remember how big he was for the city and how great he was on and off the ice, it’s been great to see how much support and love he’s gotten.”
Each and every one of the Flames players seems to have stories about Gaudreau. Jonathan Huberdeau never played with Gaudreau, but smiled as he recalled hanging out with him at Andrew Mangiapane’s wedding this summer.
Martin Pospisil remembered being surprised that Gaudreau wanted to talk with him and ask him questions the first time they skated together a few summers ago. Pospisil was an up-and-coming prospect with no NHL games to his name, while Gaudreau was one of the sport’s biggest stars.
Ryan Lomberg, who played 11 games for the Flames in 2017-18 and the following season, had a similar experience.
“There’s just so many people that Johnny impacted,” Lomberg said. “I know, for myself personally, everybody has been talking about what a great person and teammate he’s been and I’ve had the exact same experience with him. When I came up, as a nobody, he was a superstar and he took the time to make me feel comfortable just about more than anybody. That just sums up the type of guy he was.
“The relationship I had with him, I obviously looked up to him tremendously. He was a superstar in this league for the Flames at the time and for him to make me feel comfortable as a kid that was just looking to get a couple of games and make his dream come true, it was pretty special and definitely very important to me.”
The process of honouring Gaudreau is far from over in Calgary. There will be tributes at the Saddledome this season and, surely, the Flames will consider retiring his number 13 when the time is right and his family is ready.
Already, though, the city has shown its love and support.
And during an incredibly difficult time for the players and everyone with the team, that has provided some comfort.
“That’s what he meant to the city. That was Johnny. He’s ‘Johnny Hockey.’ He’s somebody special in the sport,” Huberdeau said. “For a little guy, he inspired so many people, you can still have a chance to play in the NHL even at a smaller height. That’s what he did. Just sad it happened. Can’t even describe it with words.
“You can see how he impacted the city of Calgary and the people that rallied and the candlelight vigil, I had goosebumps watching that. We’re never going to bring him back, but it’s something we can all do, to be there for his legacy.”