Sidney Crosby’s offer to the Gaudreau family:

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was asked a lot about his pending contract extension at the latest NHL North American Player Media in Las Vegas earlier this week, but he also took the time to speak about Johnny Gaudreau, who, along with 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. Sean Higgins was arrested and charges with the brothers’ deaths.

Many star players from the NHL that were present on the tour spoke about ohnny Hockey, “not just a superstar on the ice, he was one off of it as well”, but Crosby went a step further when he offered to help the Gaudreau family during this difficult time. He said:

“Knowing the hockey community, I hope everyone will rally around his family and be there to support them for their loss,” Crosby said. “We’ll do anything that we can to support them.”

When asked about what he knew of Gaudreau, Crosby mentioned how he had had the privilege to meet Johnny at a former teammate’s wedding and how he enjoyed the player, but the person as well.

“I got to meet him at (Anaheim Ducks defenseman) Brian Dumoulin ’s wedding (in 2019) … they were pretty close and played college and stuff together,” Crosby said. “I spent some time with him at All-Star Games and things like that. Just a great guy and so fun to be around.

“And you hear so many stories from guys who played with him, former teammates, and just a what a great person and nifty player he was. He was so crafty out there.”

Now, Crosby wants to be the one to give back to Johnny and his family with the desire to help them anyway he can.

Johnny was 31 years old at the time of his death, while Matthew was 29. In her eugoly on Monday, Johnny’s wife Meredith Gaudreau revealed she is currently nine weeks pregnant with the couple’s third child. She and Johnny also shared daughter Noa, 23 months, and son Johnny, 6 months. The couple married three years ago. Matthew Gaudreau’s wife, Madeline, is also expecting a child, the couple’s first, a son due in December. A GoFundMe has been set up to support Madeline and their son, who will be named Tripp.

My thoughts keep going out to Meredith and Madeline, their kids, and the entire Gaudreau clan. It’s just great to see that not only Johnny’s friends and former teammates want to be there for his family, but great star players like Crosby too, who is looking for anyway to support them.