Hours after his death, a one-time hockey idol’s connections with a city were recalled by Calgarians whose recollections were often tinged with regret.
A common theme among Calgary fans mourning the death of Johnny Gaudreau was guilt over spurning the talented forward they’d once embraced when he bolted the Flames as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2022.
Dedicated Flames fan Kris Morrey said he often served Gaudreau and his Flames teammates food and drinks following weekend home games at the Home and Away Bar, 1207 1 St. S.W.
“He was always a fun guy to be around, polite, respectful and kind and would make sure the staff was taken care of,” said Morrie.
Gaudreau and teammates would sometimes stay after closing to play the bar’s games, including shooting hoops “and he’d always ask staff if they wanted to play…people hold them up as celebrities but he was a normal person at the end of the day,” he added.
He recalls Gaudreau once requested a vintage leather football helmet from a display case “and walked around the bar with it on, visiting people.”
The best NHL game Morrey ever watched, he said, was when a highlight-reel goal by Gaudreau downed the Boston Bruins.
Even so, the fan echoed many in Calgary who now regret their hostility towards the gifted forward when he chose the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Flames two years ago.
“I have to admit I was bitter about it but at the end of the day, it’s about what’s best for their families – they’re human and you can’t hold it against them,” said Morrie.
As he spoke, a shrine to Gaudreau was growing on the steps of the Scotiabank Saddledome as stunned Calgarians arrived throughout the day to pay their respects.
Five months after his exit from the Flames organization, Gaudreau fondly recalled non-hockey relationships in the city that he hoped would endure.
“Looking back, obviously I made so many great friendships in Calgary,” he said from his new hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
“Not just players, everyone in the city, people that don’t even play hockey, my neighbours in the condo, this and that … I remember all those people, and hopefully I will see them when I go out to Calgary.
But those warm feelings for the city inevitably collided with the sense of betrayal Flames fans felt over his Calgary exit.
During his first return to Calgary in January, 2023 to face-off against his old team, Gaudreau said he was excited to see his old stomping grounds, despite fans’ resentment over his career decision that cascaded in boos from the Saddledome crowd.
“I mean, they’re a passionate fanbase here. That’s why I loved playing here. I wouldn’t expect anything else. We had some good times here,” Gaudreau said, adding he’d spoken to ex-Flames teammates Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk about their own recent returns to the Saddledome.
“The way they supported our team and supported our players, it was awesome to be a part of. They love their Flames. I’m not on the Flames anymore. I’m on the other team. So I get it. That’s what made it so special playing here.“
Knowing the sting Flames fans felt by his free agency departure, Gaudreau penned an open letter to the city in The Players’ Tribune, offering his own sense of emotional and his love for Calgary.
“To my Flames Family, I hope you can understand my decision more after reading this letter. I appreciate how much you wanted me to stay and I hope you can see how hard this decision was for me,” he said in the Tribune on July 20, 2022.
Gaudreau, who’d go on to become the face of Flames hockey for most of a decade, recalled he had little knowledge about Calgary other than knowing it’s where he wanted to play.
“When I was drafted in 2011, I honestly couldn’t point out Calgary on a map. I knew about Iggy (Jarome Iginla) and the red jerseys and that was really it,” he wrote.
“But I learned quickly about what it meant to play for this city. I couldn’t believe the comments from people asking me to sign and become a Flame right away.”
It quickly became clear, said the star forward, how important hockey was in the city that came to love him.
“‘This city is awesome,’” I thought to myself. ‘”This is a hockey city.’”
“Ever since those early days, I’ve understood: Hockey in Calgary is just different. It’s a special place with great people.”
He went on to say he looked forward to bringing his wife Meredith and their children back to the Calgary area to savour some of the best of what they’d left behind.
“One day, Meredith and I hope to bring our family back to Calgary to show them all our favorite spots and things to do like Banff and the Stampede, especially the Saddledome!,” he wrote.
On Friday, other Flames fans expressed remorse over how many of the team’s faithful never reconciled Gaudreau’s departure from Calgary, until it was too late.
“(Former Flame Matthew) Tkachuk redeemed himself after winning the (Stanley) Cup (by defeating the (Edmonton Oilers with the Florida Panthers) but it took the passing of Johnny Hockey for Flames fans to forgive him for leaving Calgary and now we are filled with regret we didn’t forgive him sooner,” Calgarian Wayne Orr stated on Facebook.
Michael Olson said Friday he now feels guilty for having booed Gaudreau at the Saddledome when the ex-Flame made his first appearance there since joining the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“I was one of those who stood up and booed him when he came back, I felt betrayed…I feel guilty (now) and take off my hat to people who were there who didn’t boo him,” said Olson.
“It’s a just a game and he’s a young man who was trying to make his way in the world.”
He also expressed remorse for a Gaudreau jersey the family once owned but gave away after their one-time hockey idol left the Flames.
His son Thomas idolized the former Flame and went from booing him as a Blue Jacket to erecting a small shrine in their Bridlewood home in tribute – placing a framed picture of the player alongside a hockey stick and street hockey rollerblades.
The 16-year-old recalled instantly insisting on Gaudreau’s number 13 for his jersey as a Timbits Hockey player a decade ago.
“When I was given the choice, I never even had to think about it,” said the younger Olson.
“I watched him growing up and I loved how he played hockey and wanted to play more like him. We lost someone really special.”
The leader of one of Calgary’s neighbouring communities also paid tribute to Gaudreau, who he called a master of the game.
“Tsuut’ina is in a state of shock at the news of the tragic deaths of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew,” Tsuut’ina Chief Roy Whitney said in a statement.
“It’s no secret that most Tsuut’ina people are rabid hockey fans, and this news hits hard.”
Said fan Kris Morrey, who became familiar with Gaudreau’s favourite beverages: “His death has a real impact, especially when you know how important hockey is in Calgary.”
“It almost drains you.”