Cole Caufield breaks rule in tribute to Johnny Gaudreau and Gary Bettman intervenes

There’s no doubt on how much Johnny Gaudreau was a significantly figure in the NHL, and it was even more evident on Tuesday evening when Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield announced he switched his jersey number to 13 in honour of Johnny Hockey, who inspired him.

“He paved the way for smaller players and proved we had a future in this game at the highest level,” Caufield wrote. “I will forever be grateful to him for inspiring me and others.”

The number change was appropriate and moving, however, some fans will be stunned to find out that it took a special exemption from Gary Bettman to get it done.

Alexandre Tourigny of RDS revealed on Thursday how Caufield reportedly missed the deadline to make a jersey number change, but the NHL and its commissioner made an exception.

"Cole Caufield’s number change - I have been confirmed that there are no costs related to such a change for the player (unlike the NFL). That said, the deadline to make the change in Caufield’s case had passed and the NHL made an exception," reads the post, translated from French.

As much as fans love to hate Bettman and most of his antics, this is a great move by the NHL commissionner. Gaudreau was beloved around the league and I’m sure Bettman did not even hesitate to waive the exemption for Caufield.

Gaudreau and his younger brother Matthew were killed last Thursday night after being struck by a drunk driver while riding their bikes near their hometown.

Johnny Gaudreau was a hero to a lot of people, including Caufield, as both players, listed as five-foot-nine, and five-foot-eight respectively, were among the shortest players in the NHL last season.

Tributes for the fallen brothers have been pouring in from across the NHL fanbase, with two moving candlelight vigils taking place in Columbus and Calgary, where large memorials have been set up outside the arenas in those cities.

For now, Caufield is the only one that has made the number change and I can’t tell if any other players around the league will make the same choice. However, it is clear that Bettman and the NHL handled the situation perfectly with the Canadiens and I can only assume the same if anyone else chooses to make the number change in Johnny Hockey’s honour.