NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, who starred over eight seasons with the Calgary Flames before joining the Columbus Blue Jackets, was killed Thursday night when he was hit by a car while riding a bicycle in his home state of New Jersey. He was 31.
New Jersey State Police said Gaudreau was one of two cyclists struck and killed by a car in Salem County, New Jersey. Gaudreau's younger brother, Matthew, 29, was the other victim in the crash, police confirmed.
The Carneys Point, New Jersey, natives were in the area for their sister Katie's wedding scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.
According to police, the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Columbus Blue Jackets statement on the passing of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew. pic.twitter.com/V2aFykgKIs
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) August 30, 2024
Police said the driver, Sean M. Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto and jailed at the Salem County Correctional Facility.
"It’s with great sadness, we mourn the tragic deaths of our friend Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau," the Flames said in a statement.
"Our hearts are broken by this devastating loss. Johnny was and always will be a member of the Flames family and loved by all of Calgary."
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 11 professional seasons in the league and was going into his third with the Blue Jackets.
Gaudreau was selected by Calgary in the fourth round 104th overall, at the 2011 NHL draft
He went on to become the face of the Flames, scoring 210 goals and adding 399 assists in 602 regular-season games over eight seasons in Calgary.
He left the Flames in free agency after the 2021-22 season, citing a desire to be closer to home, and signed a seven-year contract worth US$68.25 million deal with Columbus.
"Completely gutted. The world just lost one of the best," Flames forward Blake Coleman posted on the social media site X. "RIP Johnny."
In a 2022 article in The Players' Tribune, Gaudreau called leaving Calgary "the toughest decision I've ever had to make."
"I still thought about going back and trying to work on a seven-year deal to stay," he wrote. "It was all on the table for the entire process.
"Maybe that seems messy … but life is messy, you know?"
Gaudreau, at five-foot-nine and 180 pounds, was part of a generation of hockey players who thrived in an era of speed and skill that made being undersized less of a disadvantage. He scored 20-plus goals six times and was a 115-point player in 2021-22 as a first-time NHL All-Star when he had a career-best 40 goals and 75 assists.
“The National Hockey League family is shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
"While Johnny’s infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname ‘Johnny Hockey,’ he was more than just a dazzling hockey player; he was a doting father and beloved husband, son, brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have crossed his path."
Before joining the Flames, Gaudreau helped Boston College win the NCAA championship in 2012 and in 2014 took home the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the country.
As a professional, Gaudreau finished was part of the NHL all-rookie team during his first season in the league and was third in voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2014-15.
Gaudreau was a point-a-game player with 642 points in 644 regular-season and playoff games since breaking into the league.
He holds the men’s world championship records by a U.S. player with 30 assists and 43 points, earlier this year breaking marks previously held by Patrick Kane.
Gaudreau’s death is the latest off-ice tragedy to strike the organization in the past few years. Goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died in July 2021 when he was struck in the chest by a firework while attending the wedding of then-Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace’s daughter in Michigan.
