Flames hold beautiful tribute to Johnny Gaudreau in home opener.

We all knew it was coming, emotions could not have been running any higher, and somehow the Calgary Flames still managed to more than deliver.

On Saturday night, the Calgary Flames put on a truly beautiful tribute for the late Johnny Gaudreau in their first home game of the 2024-25 National Hockey League regular season, and when I say it was beautiful I may be underselling it. In spite of the fact that Gaudreau's departure from Calgary left the team in a difficult position and was rather acrimonious, the Flames clearly put all of that aside in their efforts to do right by the memory of Johnny Gaudreau on Saturday night.

The Flames began with an amazing highlight reel of Gaudreau's career highlights as a member of the Flames organization, with the lights dimmed in the arena. Each time, prior to a highlight of Johnny scoring a goal, a spotlight would light up around the opposition's net to show where Johnny had scored the goal from as if he were doing so from high above.

The lights would then move to the center of the ice where his number appeared and the Flames played Chuck Berry's Johnny B Goode, before asking fans to rise to their feet and applaud in honor of Gaudreau's memory.

Gaudreau would receive a roaring ovation from the fans in attendance, many of whom had tears streaming down their face, and there were loud chants of "Johnny! Johnny! Johnny!" that echoed through the building.

A wonderful gesture from the Flames, and a great response from the fans in Calgary to properly honor Johnny Gaudreau before their home opener.