Amount of money Johnny Gaudreau’s wife will receive from the NHL after his passing revealed

The pain and grief of last week’s tragedy remains. A week ago, the NHL universe found out that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother Matthew died in a terrible incident. It occurred on Thursday evening when Sean Higgins, 43, of Woodstown, New Jersey, was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee north on County Route 551 and attempted to overtake another vehicle. He struck the Gaudreau brothers, both riding bicycles alongside one another on the shoulder side of the road. Johnny and Matthew were pronounced dead at the scene. Police reports say Higgins was intoxicated and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide.

There is also a lot of empathy and concern for the wife of Johnny and for the wife of Matthew, who is expecting their first child, a son, in December. We had shared with you last week that a GoFundMe had been set up for Madeline, and their unborn son, Tripp. All donations will be directly sent to the family for Matthew’s funeral expenses and for the eventual birth of Tripp. The page has been getting donations, with several coming in from some pretty significant NHL players, including Matthew Tkachuk, Ryan Hartman, Sean Monahan and Zack Werenski.

When it comes to Meredith, Johnny’s wife, questions were asked by fans to see if she would get any help from the NHL after her husband’s passing. One with knowledge on the financial situation explained how Meredith Gaudreau is set to be paid by the NHL in an insurance policy that ensures players families are taken care of in the event of tragedies like the one that struck the Gaudreaus last week.

The fan revealed that the insurance program is only for the first season following the player’s death. That means that Gaudreau’s family will receive one million dollars as a basic protection, plus Gaudreau’s salary for the 2024-25 season. He also pointed out that it is more than likely that Johnny Gaudreau had additional private insurance, which will pay his family separately for whatever that policy was worth.

While no amount of money will ever make up for the passing of Johnny and his brother Matthew, it is reassuring to know that Meredith and her kids won’t have to deal with financial stress during this difficult time.