Meredith Gaudreau is leaving with permanent ink. As part of an emotional visit to Calgary, to the city and arena where her late husband emerged as an NHL superstar, she had Johnny’s signature etched on her right wrist.
For the rest of this heartbroken family, even those without fresh tattoos, it’s clear this trip will leave a lasting imprint.
“Some of the best fans in the world are here in Calgary,” said grieving father Guy Gaudreau during an intermission interview Tuesday on Sportsnet. “Everybody just treats us like royalty, which is nice. I went with Matt Stajan yesterday and at a light, a gentleman rolled his window down and said, ‘Hey, welcome home, Guy.’ That was really special.
“You know, my wife and I, we’ve had some hard, hard times for three months. But it’s nice to have people hug you and tell you that they love you. My son John loved it here, and he created something here for our family. We love it here.”
The love is mutual.
That was obvious in late August as the hockey world mourned Johnny’s sudden and shocking death, an unfair and unthinkable tragedy made even more heart-wrenching because his younger brother Matthew was killed in the same incident.
It was reinforced Tuesday with a special tribute to a superstar taken far too soon.
It’s not often you see NHLers sobbing before a game, but there weren’t many dry eyes — not on the ice, not in the stands, not anywhere — in the Saddledome as the Flames honoured Johnny prior to a matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Guy and Jane, joined by their daughters Kristen and Katie and by Meredith and her two kids, stood at centre ice for a ceremonial puck-drop. At the dot, both Mikael Backlund and Sean Monahan were crying.
On the concourse, a fan handed out bracelets that featured Johnny’s No 13 and Matthew’s No. 21. In the seats, a youngster hoisted a homemade sign that read: ‘Fly high Johnny. Heaven gained my hockey idol.’
As the crowd chanted his son’s name, not for the first or last time, Guy buried his head in Rasmus Andersson’s chest, leaving tear-drops on the Flaming C logo on the front of his jersey.
There has been so much talk about how the hockey world has wrapped its arms around the Gaudreau family. As Andersson squeezed Guy in a hug, it provided just another example. The workhorse blue-liner would eventually score the game-winning goal in a 3-0 shutout victory, a perfect way to honour his pal.
Post-game, Johnny was announced as first star, with Andersson and Backlund leading Guy out to the ice for another salute.
“It’s been hard times for everyone and I can’t even grasp what these guys are going through, so it’s unbelievable to see them here and it was such a special night and I hope everyone felt how loved Johnny was and still is.”
They sure did.
In fact, as Andersson was saying that, Guy was nodding in agreement.
“We just can’t thank them enough,” Jane told Sportsnet when asked if there was a message she’d like to share with the organization that drafted her son in 2011 and with the fanbase that cheered him to 210 goals and 609 points between 2014-2022. “They have been like our second family. It was both healing and very therapeutic, I think, to come back and just see everyone and know that everyone really, really cared about us. And not just John. It was our whole family they welcomed in.”
Tuesday’s ceremony, complete with a powerful tribute video set to George Canyon’s acoustic version of Johnny B. Goode, was just one of many classy touches as the Flames hosted the Gaudreaus.
There was a bench dedication at Flames Community Arenas.
There was a meal at Mercato, one of Johnny’s go-tos during his nine-season stay in Cowtown.
There was an opportunity for Guy to lace up his skates and join the team as a guest coach at practice.
Members of the family were also presented with coffee table-style memory books, pages upon pages filled with messages that were left at the summertime memorial outside the Saddledome.
“Just the people, in the hallway as we go by or in the mall, they’ll stop and talk to us,” Jane said to Sportsnet. “They thank us. And we feel like we want to thank them for welcoming John and our family to this wonderful city.”
This is, as they’ve all repeated several times, where it started for Johnny.
First goal, first point, first all-star invite and Game 7 overtime winner … He achieved all those on behalf of the Flames.
On this trip, Meredith booked an appointment for her first tattoo. She will forever wear her husband’s signature on her wrist.
“I thought it would be cool to say I did those in Calgary,” Meredith explained in an interview on Sportsnet. “Because that’s where his autograph really took off. This is where it all began.”
Tuesday, for both a grieving family and grieving fanbase, wasn’t the beginning but more of a continuation of the healing process.
“These two guys and the team and the city always loved my son,” said Guy, flanked by Andersson and Backlund as Sportsnet wrapped its broadcast of a beautiful evening. “I know if he’s looking down, he’s smiling and happy that these guys played hard for him. It’s been a hard time for our family, but these guys are hurting too and they’ve gotta play and the way they played tonight with heavy hearts, it was pretty impressive to me.
“At centre ice, when I dropped the puck, Backs and Monahan are both bawling and I’m crying and I’m like, ‘How are they going to play a hockey game?’ I couldn’t even barely get up the stairs. But these are tough guys and they’re great hockey players, and I’m proud of them. And John is looking down at ’em and proud of them also.”