Johnny Gaudreau’s wife Meredith has special message for Sean Monahan

More than three months ago, Columbus Blue Jackets star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother Matthew 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, where both brothers were to be groomsmen. The Gaudreau brothers have been honoured since the start of the 2024-25 NHL season, with the Jackets and Calgary Flames putting together emotional tributes on ice for their former player.

Last week in Calgary, the Flames faced the Blue Jackets at the Saddledome and the teams had a ceremonial puck drop with members of the Gaudreau’s family in attendance. Flames’ captain Mikael Backlund and Blue Jackets’ center Sean Monahan took the face-off. The players were not only teammates of Johnny Gaudreau for all nine seasons that he spent in Calgary, but are also close friends of the family. Monahan had even signed as a free agent in Columbus this summer, looking forward to playing once again with his best friend.

The Jackets fell 3-0 to the Flames, who gave the first star to Johnny Hockey, and after the game, Monahan spoke about his friend and how he always tries to make him proud.

“To do what he did (on the ice), I definitely can’t do that. But I’m trying to make him proud.”

After the emotional moments in Calgary, Johnny Gaudreau’s wife Meredith took the time online to send a special message to Monahan, letting everyone know how helpful and involved he has been for her family since the death of his best buddy.
“No better guy for the job. I know for sure that John is so proud of Sean, standing by our side through this every step of the way, even though it’s his own massive loss too,” Meredith captioned the story.
Johnny Gaudreau and Monahan were best friends, and since the passing of former, Sean and his wife Brittany Rosenberg have been helping out Meredith Gaudreau and the kids.

Johnny Gaudreau was a fourth-round pick for the Flames in the 2011 NHL draft and made his NHL debut in Calgary’s final game of the 2013-14 regular season, scoring a goal in the game. He went on to win a Lady Byng trophy in 2016-17, before he left to free agency in order to play for an NHL team closer to his family in 2022, signing a seven-year contract with the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau only played two years of it before his passing.

He played in 763 regular season games across 11 seasons, accumulating 243 goals and 500 assists for 743 points. He also had 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points in 42 playoff games. His wife Meredith, who also attended the game and ceremony, is pregnant with the couple’s third child as the couple shared daughter Noa and son Johnny. Johnny was 31 years old at the time of his death, while Matthew was 29. Matthew Gaudreau’s wife, Madeline, is also expecting a child, the couple’s first, a son due this month, who will be named Tripp.