Unbelievably classy move by Johnny Gaudreau for teammate Patrik Laine

Blue Jackets star forward Johnny Gaudreau has announced that he is picking up teammate Patrik Laine’s commitment to donate $1,000 a point for the rest of the season to promote men’s mental health awareness and support in Columbus.
Gaudreau added that he had the idea over the All-Star Break, and not because “an idiot comes out and says some terrible things.”

The idiot is some podcaster that does not deserve more attention. That insensitive jerk mocked Laine, who since late January, has taken a leave of absence from the team and returned to his native Finland, citing personal reasons and the need to improve his mental health. The podcaster made a terrible negative comment on Laine’s mental health, which prompted the star player to hold those podcasters to account on social media and start a movement to get more donations to a fund Laine set up to benefit men’s mental health initiatives.

Laine has always been an advocate in promoting mental health, donating $1,000 for every point he records this season to the OhioHealth Foundation to provide resources and support to the Columbus community. Since he is out indefinitely, Gaudreau is taking over.

This is just an unbelievably sweet gesture of support from Gaudreau who is reminding everyone out there that it is okay to talk about mental health struggles and how everyone is human and can deal with such issues.

Laine has been through so much in recent years, losing his father. The forward has previously said that his father was his mentor in hockey and in life and that the two spoke to each other every single day. It’s been posited by fans that perhaps Laine didn’t take the time he needed back in 2021 to deal with his grief. You can imagine how difficult it must be for a young man with so much pressure on his shoulders to lose his father and mentor.

Laine clearly has the support of his teammates and Gaudreau is showing ways to be there for people who need it most.

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