Dan Snyder’s family extend help in Gaudreau brothers’ tragedy

Almost 21 years ago, on October 5, 2003, Atlanta Thrashers’ Dan Snyder passed away from injuries he sustained in a single-vehicle crash with teammate Dany Heatley. Snyder died in hospital from massive brain injuries without ever regaining consciousness. Heatley pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide and admitted to consuming alcohol prior to the crash, though his blood-alcohol content tested below the legal limit. He was sentenced to three years probation and the Thrashers and the Atlanta community were largely supportive of Heatley.

Snyder’s death came as a shock and at the time, it was Don Waddell who was the general manager of the Thrashers. When tragedy struck in a terrible incident that costs the lives of Columbus Blue Jackeys star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, who were stuck and killed by a drunk driver while riding bikes in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, on August 29, on the eve of their sister’s wedding, Dan Snyder’s family immediately thought of Waddell and ways to reach out and help.

“I think it’s important in those moments that you feel some support or love from somewhere,” Graham Snyder told The Athletic. “Because the emotions are just so high.

“When I woke up and first heard the news and saw the headline and started reading … it took me about a minute and I said, ‘Oh, my God. It’s Don again.’ I knew he had moved to Columbus.

“I thought, ‘Oh jeez, Don, how are you going to get through this?’”

As much as the Thrashers and Waddell helped the Snyder family back in 2003, they now want to be there to support him in yet another tragedy.

“Nobody wants that job, but he certainly helped us, and the organization did,” Graham Snyder said. “I just felt we had to reach out to him. Because who can think about going through that twice in your life?”

Waddell got the message and expressed his gratitude to the Athletic as the GM looks to kick his inaugural season with the Blue Jackets, without Johnny Hockey.

“When Graham and LuAnn reached out to me that Friday, it meant the world to me,” Waddell told The Athletic. “Because the family went through it, losing one of their two sons, that’s never easy for anybody. How they dealt with it and how we’ve stayed in touch over the years, it just meant the world to me to hear from them knowing that as parents who went through it, (they) felt we handled it as well as we could of and supported them.

“They’re good people.”

Snyder’s father feels that the Blue Jackets will continue to honour Johnny and his brother Matthew, including during the upcoming NHL season.

“If it’s anything like it was in Atlanta, the emotions will carry them through for a while,” Snyder said.

Waddell also knows that what’s Johnny would want, just as his wife Meredith explained in her moving eulogy at the brothers’ funeral on Monday.

“From a team standpoint, we know it’s going to be hard. But we also listened to (Johnny’s wife) Meredith when she talked at the church. She knows that Johnny wants the best for us. I know guys have talked about it, that he would want us to go out and do what we’re capable of doing and try to win as many hockey games as we can.”

The Blue Jackets have shown in the past that they are a team that sticks together, through hard times as well. Just three years ago lost young goalie Matiss Kivlenieks to a tragic death and GM Waddell hopes his players will find the strength to keep going.

That’s what Snyder’s family want for them, just like they felt from the Thrashers 21 years ago, and know that’s what the Gaudreaus are also hoping for.