Halford & Brough in the Morning - Johnny Hockey’s Legacy

Episode Date: August 30, 2024

In hour three Mike Halford and Jason Brough continue the conversation on the tragic news of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew’s passing. They are joined by Ryan Leslie and Derek Wills to discuss his aura and influence on his teammates and the game.  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

804 on a Friday you're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. We are in the third and final hour of our program. And for those of you just joining us, we need to pass along the news that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother Matthew Gaudreau were killed Thursday night when they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey. Goudreau, who is 31, and his brother Matthew, who is 29, are residents of New Jersey, and they were in the area for their sister Katie's wedding, which was scheduled for today in Philadelphia. They were to serve as groomsmen at that wedding.

New Jersey State Police said this morning the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck the brothers from behind. That caused fatal injuries and the brothers died at the scene. Police said the driver was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and was subsequently charged with two counts of death by auto.

He was subsequently jailed at a local correctional facility. We know that there are listeners right now who are hearing this news for the very first time. It is shocking and jarring and incredibly tragic. The details of which we just passed along. Reactions are coming in. We're going to be joined by Ryan Leslie in a moment. Before we do, Jason wants to read a statement from someone very close to Johnny Gaudreau, former Calgary Flames general manager, Brian Burke. And Brian Burke is sadly no stranger to tragedy in his life as well. And he writes in a statement, my heart goes out

to the Goudreau family after the tragic loss of Johnny and Matthew. I was lucky enough to have Johnny with the Calgary Flames and with USA Hockey, and it cannot be overstated just what a joy it was for everyone involved to have Johnny Goudreau on their team. First and foremost, Johnny was always the first to raise his hand,

to give back to his community. When we had any charity requests, we always knew he would say yes without hesitation. His love of his family, friends, and alma mater was always apparent and was clearly the driving force in his life. What I remember most was his happiness,

enthusiasm, and kindness that radiated out through the locker room every day. There are a few players in hockey history who matched his passion and love for the game of hockey. His talent on the ice was enhanced, not diminished by the fact that he was having fun

out there. The entire Goudreau family is in our thoughts and prayers as they navigate this incredibly difficult time. Yeah, and the other time we saw Johnny Goudreau was in Columbus at the All-Star game at night. He was having a

good time. And I remember thinking, you've got to do the skills competition in a few hours. Would you like a coffee? We talked about this earlier. That was, like, looking at this in hindsight now, that was one of the first National Hockey League platforms

where the Johnny Hockey thing really jumped forward because he was a big presence that weekend. Yes, he was. On the ice and off the ice. And you kind of knew. He really embraced it. Yeah, and we just talked to Aaron Portsline about it. He said Johnny had this aura about him.

And for a very diminutive guy, he absolutely did. And we witnessed it firsthand at the 2015 All-Star Game in Columbus that weekend. We're going to go to the phone lines now. Joining us on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650, NHL Calgary Flames host on Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada, Ryan Leslie joins us now on the Halford and Brough show and Ryan obviously I'm not going to do the good morning how are you

thing I think the answers to that and to the replies to that are obvious we just had Aaron Portsline on the show and I'll ask you the same question I asked him to start how are you doing in the wake of this news this is a tough one for a lot of people guys good morning yeah this is this is going one for a lot of people, guys. Good morning. Yeah, this is going to touch

a lot of people at a lot of different levels. And first and foremost, the Gaudreau family who were gathered for their daughter's wedding that was to take place today. And Jane and Guy Gaudreau, Meredith Gaudreau, Johnny's wife, Jane and Guy, Johnny and Matthew's parents. This is beyond comprehension. I'm still in a it doesn't seem real phase. And this, you know, from family and friends and teammates to those who knew him on a personal level to to, as Berkey said, the people in the community. This is an unspeakable tragedy. We often have to separate life from sports life,

and I know there was a lot of emotions from Calgary Flames fans when Johnny made the decision to leave the Flames and go to Columbus and there might've even been some, I would say enjoyment that Columbus wasn't doing all that well, uh, since Johnny went there. But I guess it's moments like this that give us all perspective. And I, and I imagine, although I'd ask you the question, are Flames fans this morning remembering all the good times that they had with Johnny Goudreau and watching him play hockey? Make no mistake, I think hockey fans are

able to separate all of that. Johnny Goudreau is one of their guys in Calgary and area. Nobody was happy that he left, but this transcends any of that stuff. And they are gutted. And he was their guy and he was electrifying and he was on the ice and involved off the ice and, you know know, their text lines were lighting up. Their calls and feedback was, people are just gutted. And it's, you know, I had a very special relationship with he and his family and was looking through our text thread last night and

photos last night and all kinds of calls and hearing from some of his teammates uh past and present and i just you know this is a father this is a husband this is a son this is a brother this is a good man um you know he and maddie together i i you just can't comprehend it and so uh yeah flames fans um probably a lot of them heard some of the whispers last night and this morning it's uh the reality is set in as just to how devastating this is we're speaking to calgary flames reporter and NHL host, Ryan Leslie here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Ryan, you obviously knew Johnny really well, as you just alluded to.

When someone would ask you, what is Johnny Gaudreau really like? What would you tell them? Well, I think Berkey really had some great words. I was listening to you read the statement and, you know, the passion. You think of the smile. You think of this little guy out there just dancing, and he was all world, and he'd flip into video game mode on the ice. But his passion for it, it was infectious.

And, you know, he was quite a personality, and, know he enjoyed um himself he enjoyed other people he gave a lot of himself to so many and uh you know i had a great time with him and i and i have shared this and i'll share it with you guys you know my daughter's nickname is g and um when she turned 13 she asked me for a G-Wagon vehicle. And, of course, that was not going to happen, but Johnny had a G-Wagon. And so he and Meredith and myself went to my daughter's school and surprised her with the G-Wagon and a ride home. What was it about him that made him so endearing to so many people?

We just spoke with Aaron Portsline. He talked about the fact that a 5'6 guy with the baby face and everything had an aura about him in a room with NHL superstars, and yet he was incredibly grounded. And we were kind of trying to opine on it earlier, and we kind of drew the conclusion that a lot of it had to do with uh the way that he approached it both in terms of you know being a smaller guy and that always endears people to like the underdog and the little guy and everything

but there's also the sense that um even though he had that aura he didn't act like he had one like aaron was telling an anecdote about how he would wear you know seven-year-old beat-up t-shirts that were probably ready to be in the bin. But that was just who Johnny kind of was. And he almost didn't necessarily shy away from it, but didn't necessarily want the spotlight, even though I think he knew that he had it. Yeah, he was a superstar and he was an incredibly gifted and talented guy. And I mean, in a Canadian market, you know, he would get peppered. And in a lot of NHL markets,

there was a lot of requests. There was a lot of things put on him, but he loved the game, boy. And he was a pro about it. Like he didn't duck. He didn't hide. He met with the media head-on, and there was a lot of tough questions and a lot of tough nights. Sometimes there weren't a lot of answers, and it was one that he just faced. But he did so with an enthusiasm, a passion. He did so with a way that, you know, I've seen a lot of guys come in this market and go,

and he was one that left such an impact. And he gave Flames fans a reason to get out of their seats almost every night, and they loved him. And, you know, it gets old answering questions, probably the same questions night in, night out. I had a really fun interaction with him a lot of times. And it was great. So I can speak for so many in saying that he will be missed.

And he was, you know, Calgary's guy. Ryan, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this today. Truly, really thank you for taking the time. I know it's a really difficult day, and it was really, really great to get perspective and a sort of hint at your relationship with Johnny Gaudreau, who sounds, I mean, all I did know him personally, he sounded like an ultimate guy.

Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. I appreciate it. Thank you. That's Ryan Leslie from Sportsnet here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. I just posted an old Sports Illustrated article to my Twitter account, and it was just about Johnny Goudreau. It was from 2016, I think, and it was just his story

of how he went from this undersized kid that just, you know, couldn't, couldn't grow. And his dad was like, he always said to his boys, like, listen, guys, like, look at me, you guys didn't get the, you know, like his dad was a good hockey player, but, you know, I think he knew that his boys were never going to be big. And, uh, there's a story in this article that said when he was 17, it was during a preseason camp in the USHL and reps from NHL Central Scouting were visiting the junior team to measure draft eligible prospects.

And at the time, Goudreau was like 130 pounds, maybe. And I'll just read this verbatim. And so it was that Johnny Goudreau stepped onto the scale with five pucks crammed inside his jock strap. He fudged the official weigh in 137 pounds, hiked up his pants and carefully waddled

away so nothing tumbled out. And, uh, he says, that's all I was thinking about, getting as many extra pounds as I could. Hopefully someone would think I wasn't as skinny as I really was. And this was part of the story and a big part of the story of Johnny Gajot and why so many people relate and why so many people enjoyed watching him play. He was noticeable. If you'd never been to a hockey game in your life.

That's a really good point. You didn't even know the sport. You'd be like, is that kid 14? Yeah. Right. You'd be watching him and, and, and he would stand out. I mean, you could really see that.

In an unbelievable way because he was, I think Brian Burke might've had a line about this where he was kind of like paraphrasing here. He's like, we're not talking about a small player. We're talking about like a tiny player. Well, you can see the lineage of the diminutive superstar that sort of began with – and you want to talk about Americans too. Like he begins with Patrick Kane,

and then Johnny Gaudreau is the next iteration of that. And there are countless young, undersized American hockey players who looked up to Johnny Gaudreau as being their role model. Right. I mean, and that was the thing is that an American hockey player through and through it went the USHL route through NCAA hockey goes to Calgary of all places right so but um he was he was the next iteration of that type of player with the incredible puck handling skills the water bugging where it was a highlight reel to watch and then you know if you go back and you look at that last year in Calgary just in terms that line with him and Lindholm and Kachuk was the best line in hockey it was the most offensively dangerous line and Goudreau's accolades that I mean Goudreau's numbers that year 40 goals 115 points 75 assists um to be on

one of those year-end first all NHl teams is incredibly difficult because one there's only six positions up for grabs you have to be not good like the elite of the elite which means you're top at your position you're in the heart trophy conversation you're judged to be one of the most influential and valuable players in the nhl and that's what we're talking about johnny goudreau um when he was that last year in Calgary before making that jump to Columbus in free agency. They say the five stages of grief are grief of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

We saw a lot of denial on social media last night when news first started breaking. And listen, we see some things on social media that end up being false. And I understand why there might have been some denial out there. But I also think there's a lot of people that just did not want this news to be true. And there was some lashing out at social media, people that were reporting this story. And maybe the reporting wasn't responsible because it wasn't, you know, locked down a hundred percent until it was confirmed. Um, but you know, I,

when I saw this on social media, you know, I, I felt like this is probably true what's happened. Um, and sadly, you know, I woke up this morning hoping I was wrong, but sadly it was true. There's a lot of anger too at the fact that this was, you know, not an accident where nobody's at fault. This was a drunk driving accident. And, you know, a lot of people deal with these sorts of things in, in, in different ways. Some people just get sad and quiet. Some people, um, reflect on their own lives. Um, some people are actually overcome with gratitude for what they do have, but there

are a lot of people that are angry and understandably angry. Um, we've had people text in and say they've lost family members or, you know, had their lives impacted by drunk drivers. And Carl from Nanaimo texts in as a person, Carl writes, as a person who has lost an immediate family member to an impaired driver. This is terrible.

My heart goes out to Johnny and the Goudreau family. who has lost an immediate family member to an impaired driver. This is terrible. My heart goes out to Johnny and the Goudreau family. They will never, Johnny and Matthew's family, they will never get over this, but they will learn to live with it. For the suspect, that person never woke up yesterday and said, I'm going to go do this to people. They woke up and they were selfish and they were dumb. We need to learn to forgive over time to find peace.

And what a, what a great text from Carl. Um, you know, I always find this tough to, um, to relate to because I've never had to deal with a loss like that to a close family member. Um, and I often, when I don't assume how I would react, I don't know. I don't know. I imagine there is just a sense of absolute panic and shock, but I don't know.

And there would be anger. Um, and I would hope that I would handle it with grace, but I know I would be angry, really angry. But you know what Carl says, and this is Carl speaking from experience. Yeah. We need to learn to forgive over time to find

peace, but that's going to be a long way away for the people of the Goudreau family. And you know, I don't know how people do it, but there are a lot of texts coming into the Dunbar Lumber text line and thank you for sending in these texts. Um, it really helps us. It gives us perspective and we want to know how you're thinking in, in moments like this.

You know, Johnny Goudreau never played for the Canucks. Um, there was never an emotional tie to Johnny Goudreau like there is in Calgary and you know, South Jersey and the Philly area and the Boston area, the people that went to Boston College and most recently Columbus. But I think as Canucks fans, we know what loss is like. We've lost, we've dealt with the loss of players like Luke Bourdon, who tragically passed away at just 21 years old.

Rick Rippon, who took his life. That was extremely hard to deal with. And then, of course, on the hockey media side, we've lost Jason Botchford in extremely tragic circumstances. So we can relate. So I think a lot of our feelings that we felt during those times, we were kind of transferring to this situation. they were live on air trying to parse through an incredibly incredibly sad and tragic story and in Calgary obviously the emotions and the impact of the tragedy is quite naturally going to hit more profoundly than it would here in Vancouver. This is not to diminish what people are feeling here. Of course, that was the kind of raw in the moment response that you just don't hear all that often. People just,

you know, having watched Goudreau for the better part of a decade and grown to love him as a player and a personality and then being hit with the news right first thing in the morning, like waking up to it. There is a sense of everything happening all at once. Shock, bewilderment, depression, you know, anger, all of these things. And if you're feeling any of that, as Jason said, text in.

650-650 is the line. We will be here for another half hour. I have been in contact with Derek Wills, who is the play-by-play voice of the Calgary Flames for Fan 960. In Calgary, we're going to try and get him on the show to end things with the final half. Oh, Derek did say yes.

Okay, so we're going to get Derek on the other side with his memories of calling Johnny Gaudreau's games while in Calgary for the last few years. I just want to read one more text before we go to break, and then we're on to the final segment of the show. The beauty in today, if we can find any, is seeing the hockey community. Every chant, debate and cheer gets washed away

in moments like this. We are all one community and it's nice knowing we are all together during this process. And hockey culture has become like a bad phrase now. And I'm not saying that there weren't issues within the game, but I've always been one to stick up for the game and to say, you know, hockey culture should not be used

as a, what, a pejorative. Like there are a lot of great things about this game. The people who play it, the people who love the game and watch the game, the people who are involved in it, team sports in general. This is what people need in times of tragedy. They need people to come together and support

them. And you can already tell that there's going to be a lot of support for the Goudreau family. Um, it won't make this thing go away, but hopefully it will help. You're listening to the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. 833 on a Friday, you're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

If you've been listening to the show this morning, or if you're just tuning in right now, you've probably noticed that it sounds a lot different than it normally does, especially on a Friday. There is reason for that. It is because very early this morning, New Jersey State Police, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the NHL all announced and confirmed that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother Matthew Gaudreau were killed Thursday night when they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey. Goudreau, who was 31, and his brother Matthew, who was 29,

are New Jersey natives, and they were in the area for their sister Katie's wedding, which was scheduled for today in Philadelphia. Johnny and Matthew were set to be groomsmen at that wedding. New Jersey State Police this morning, very early this morning, said that the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck the Gaudreau brothers from behind. It caused fatal injuries and they passed away at the scene.

Police said that the driver was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol struck the Goudreau brothers from behind, caused fatal injuries, and they passed away at the scene. Police said that the driver was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto and jailed at a local correctional facility. It is incredibly tragic, sad news. We know that many of you have been listening since 6 o'clock this morning and have gone through the last two and a half hours as we've discussed this tragedy we've gone into the dumb bar lumber text line and read some of your texts we've had guests on the show including aaron port's line from the athletic in columbus if you'd like to listen to any of that

hours one and hours two of the podcast of the show are now available for download we're going to be joined by another guest now uh derrick wills the play-by-play two of the podcast of the show are now available for download. We're going to be joined by another guest now. Derek Wills, the play-by-play voice of the Calgary Flames for Sportsnet 960, is joining us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Derek, obviously no need to say good morning and no need to ask how you're doing. I do want to start by asking when you found out about the news, where you were and what your, I mean, I think I know what your reaction was, but what was your reaction upon hearing about Johnny Gaudreau's passing?

Well, news started to trickle out or reports started to trickle out, uh, last night, um, was sitting around the fire and, uh, relaxing and, um, enjoying a nice evening here in Cochrane and got a text just giving me a heads up that something may have happened. And then, you know, the next four or five, six hours, it was constantly refreshing my Twitter feed, respectfully reaching out to some people who might still be up, who might have more information. But ultimately, I got to the point where I thought, well, probably not going

to hear one way or the other tonight. So I tried to get some sleep. And I was hoping that when I woke up this morning, that it was going to be good news, and not the news that we all receive. So, I mean, just an unspeakable tragedy for a guy who loved playing the game of hockey and who I think it's safe to say, even for fans of other teams, you know, if your favorite team was playing the flames or playing the blue jackets i still think that uh you know most fans probably had the ability to appreciate the unique things that johnny gaudreau could do on the ice so just uh obviously a tragic day for the gaudreau family and having had an opportunity to get to know them over the years

i just can't even imagine uh what they're going through right now, especially, as you mentioned, on what was supposed to be a wonderful day with Katie getting married and then everybody that Johnny touched, whether it be family or friends or teammates or fans. I mean, I think it's rare in our world where someone is given the gifts that Johnny was and was able to share those gifts with the world and touch hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people with his ability to play the game and with his personality and just a horrible day. I mean, there's no way around it.

What was your relationship like with Johnny Goudreau? I wouldn't say that we were friends, but I would say that we were friendly. I mean, Johnny played one game in the NHL prior to his first full season in the league, which was my first full season back in 2014-2015. I scored his first goal in his first game, which in hindsight felt and feels fitting.

But I had an opportunity to get to know him. Again, not as friends, but working together. You'd chat about hockey, you'd chat about life occasionally. Got to know his family, his dad Guy and his mom Jane, and I was just looking back at some of my interactions with his family. And I usually once a year will post a video of the walk across the catwalk at Scotiabank Saddledome. You know, people get a kick out of it and uh his mom saw it and

reached out and asked if if i could set up uh a tour of of the press box and if she could uh could take that walk at the dome um so uh one night i i set it up with tory peterson who's one of the social media people for the flames and you know brought Jane and Katie and Meredith for that walk across the catwalk. So just one of the millions of memories I have of Johnny and my interactions with him and interactions with his family. But in the media, he was, you know, could be cliche at times, which I think most players in the league are. But Johnny always had time for us.

You know, he was the biggest star here in Calgary for the eight years he spent here and never turned down an interview request. And even when he spoke in cliches, he would still take the time to do so. And he always had that smile on his face, whether he was on the ice or off the ice and that's certainly one of the things that i'll never forget about him just how much he loved the game

and how much he loved being around the rink i was listening to the morning fan uh 916 calgary's morning show on the way in this morning obviously incredibly raw emotionally both from the hosts and from everyone that was calling in and you know the one sense that I got from the numerous fans that were calling in to express how upset and how tragic this was and, I mean, how shocked they were as well is that despite how the ending went, there was still a very, very warm spot in the heart of a lot of Calgary Flames fans for Johnny Goudreau. Why do you think he resonated with fans so much beyond the other average, you know, player or star

that would have come through calgary playing for that team it's a great question it's actually something that uh i've spent some time thinking about since uh the reports uh started trickling out last night i really think it's because we had an opportunity to watch him grow up you You know, he was fresh out of Boston College when he made his NHL debut. And then he had a summer to get ready for his first full season in the league. And I remember the first time I met him.

And, you know, the Young Stars Classic is coming up in Penticton in a couple of weeks. And it was at the South Okanagan Event Centre where outside of the Flames dressing room I went up to Johnny and introduced myself and I wanted to make sure that I got the pronunciation of his last name correct I said is it Goudreau and he said yeah and when I was on Sportsnet 960 this morning they talked about how unassuming he was and absolutely true. You know, Goudreau is not how you pronounce his last name, but he was so unassuming that he didn't care.

I cared and found out later in the season when I first met his dad, Guy and his mom, Jane, who were waiting for him outside the dressing room after a game on the road somewhere. When I introduced myself to them, they did the same. And Guy said,

nice to meet you. I'm Guy Goudreau. And I'm myself to them, they did the same. And Guy said, nice to meet you. I'm Guy Goudreau. And I'm like, oh, I've been saying Johnny's name incorrectly for the first half season of his career, so I better correct that. And thankfully, we all got it right after that. But we watched him grow up. I remember his first couple of seasons, the guys would always give him the gears because he was like a kid in many ways. He acted like a kid when he was around the rink again because he loved the game so much

and loved being around his teammates and coaches. And he used to love to eat candy. And the guys would give him a hard time about that. But then we watched him, you know, go from this young man who was trying to figure out how to be a professional hockey player on the ice and off the ice to a husband, a father of two, and we got to watch him grow up right in front of our eyes. And obviously the fans got to see it to a certain extent,

but, you know, behind the curtain, we got to see it to a certain extent but you know behind the curtain we got to see it to an even greater extent um and you know even if he was uh just a kid in the candy store at times um he was always pleasant to be around he always had a smile on his face but always have a conversation with you and and those are just the things that he that he did off the ice on the ice guys. I mean, one of the greatest players that I've had an opportunity to watch. And I say that because sometimes you gain a greater appreciation for a player when you get to watch him every day, when you get to watch him practice, when you get to watch him at morning skates and when you get to watch him like everybody else playing the games and in the games, he brought the fans to their feet.

Now I stand when I call games, but I can tell you that on countless occasions, despite me standing, it would lead to me jumping. He'd almost make me jump when I was calling a game because of the incredible things that he could do on the ice. And I remember it was the Flames' final game before Christmas in that first season of 2014-2015. And I believe they had lost eight straight. And they were in Los Angeles playing the Kings. And behind in that game, Johnny Gaudreau scored a hat trick, including the game-tying goal late in the third period. Mark Giordano ended up scoring the game-winner in overtime.

And I remember thinking about how important that Johnny Gaudreau hat trick and that Mark Giordano goal were for the team. Because to go into the Christmas break with nine straight losses, I mean, you'd spend half the break answering questions from family and friends about this terrible losing streak. Instead, they went in on a high and had a great second half of the season, got to the playoffs unexpectedly. No one thought they'd have a chance to do that. Clinched a spot in the second to last game and then won a playoff series. Maybe that doesn't happen if Johnny Gaudreau doesn't score a hat trick that night. And you fast forward to, I think, his signature signature moment not only with the Flames but it's an NHLer you know game seven overtime

against the Stars Jake Ottinger looks unbeatable you know throughout the whole series and certainly in game seven and you know Johnny Gaudreau from a sharp angle in the corner to Jake Ottinger's right puts the puck into a teacup. The type of shot it was going to take to beat him, to win that game and to win that series and to set up the first battle of Alberta in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 31 years. And I got emotional talking about this earlier. I probably will again. But you think about the relationships that these guys build with their teammates

and um john monaghan was injured and couldn't play in that series um but for for years and years we watched john monaghan and johnny goudreau or johnny and monty as bob harley used to say uh and the incredible chemistry they had together on the ice. Well, great friends off the ice. So Johnny scores that goal to win the game and to win the series. And Monty's at the end of the tunnel waiting for him to come off the ice. And I'll never forget the embrace that they shared in that moment. And earlier in this offseason, you know, I was so excited to hear that Johnny and Sean were going to be reunited playing for the Blue Jackets.

And I can't imagine how excited they both were to have that opportunity to play together again, to be teammates again, to spend more time together on the ice and off the ice. I just, this is just tragic in so many ways, guys. And I, again, I can't wrap my head around what the Gaudreau's must be feeling right now on a day that should have been a celebration of Katie's wedding. You know, this happens on the eve. I just, it's unimaginable for me, fellas.

Us as well. It's been a truly awful day and there's a lot of heartache and a lot of pain, and it's coming from everywhere, including people that are listening right now. I can hear it in your voice as well, Derek. So I really want to thank you for taking the time to do this today. I know it couldn't have been easy, and I can tell that with all of the anecdotes and stories that you had, Johnny Goudreau was as special a person as everyone's made him out to be today that have come on the show.

Thanks for doing this. We really appreciate it. Yeah, great player, but a really good guy. A son, a brother, a husband, a father, and we're all going to miss him. But I feel for that family today, and I feel for that family for forever. It's a life-changing moment in all the wrong ways, and my deepest condolences to them. Thanks for doing what you guys are doing.

I think it's part of the grieving process for those of us who had a chance to cover Johnny, and what a great honor it was to do that for eight years. And also for fans. I feel like hockey fans, especially Flames fans, and probably to a lesser extent Blue Jackets fans, but hockey fans in general felt the connection with this Johnny hockey character. And I think we're all feeling horrible today. So thanks for doing what you guys are doing to help us through it.

And deepest condolences to Johnny's family and friends and everybody you have touched. Thanks, Derek. We appreciate it. Thanks, guys. Derek Wills, the play-by-play voice of the Calgary Flames on Fan 960 in Calgary. One thing about the human experience about when there is a loss, even if it's a tragic loss, your emotions bounce around because the reality hits you hard and you feel like crying out of sadness. But then anyone who's been to a funeral or a memorial service knows that there are times where you're smiling

or even outright laughing at remembering these people. And, you know, we were talking earlier in the show about how Johnny Hockey was relatable to a lot of people because he was undersized and, you know, there's probably a lot of people out there. I mean, not everyone's 6'4", 220, right? Yeah.

And, you know, that was a relatable part for me. When I was a kid, I was a really picky eater. And we've got a picky eater at home. Like it is, we just went to Italy and our picky eater really enjoyed the spaghetti and butter. Like just, just like had reviews on all the different restaurants throughout Tuscany. Like who had the best spaghetti with butter? Yep.

Johnny Hockey was the same way. And Sean Monaghan used to poke fun at him and he would say he likes his pasta, doesn't want any sauce on it, just butter. And there was a story from his old coach, Jim Montgomery, I guess, Boston College coach. just butter. And there was a story from his old coach, uh, Jim Montgomery, I guess,

Boston college coach. And this is making its way around on social media. And he was talking about Johnny's nutrition habits. Um, and he says he doesn't like vegetables. He hardly likes fruit.

The first team barbecue we had, all he ate was three hamburgers with ketchup only. He was trying to put on weight because he knew it was his draft year. He started drinking two milkshakes a day and got on a Nutella kick. He was eating Nutella by the spoonful, I guess.

In the middle of one practice, he came out to me and said, coach, my stomach feels awful. They take him to a doctor. The doctor asked him a bunch of questions. Turns out he was eating so much Nutella that he got constipated. Yeah. Right.

I mean, that is the most relatable thing I've ever heard about a professional athlete. That was the nickname Johnny ham and cheese was because for a while, seven days a week, that's all he'd eat was a ham and cheese sandwich. So the other, so another story about this is when like, I remember as a kid, as a fussy

eater, right? It was like, you know, things that you would think would be enjoyable. You always had this like anxiety about, but like a kid's birthday party. Well, what if they have like, I didn't need this, right? Or what if they have that?

Well, I don't need that. When we used to go on trips, um, it was like, well, what if they don't have the food that I like? I guess the flames did a trip to China. Yes. I think they played some, what if they don't have the food that I like? I guess the Flames did a trip to China. Yes, that's right. I think they played some – Johnny was panicking. Yeah.

Because he's like, I don't know if I'm going to like any of the food. He brought his own ham and cheese on the plane. Oh, for in China. Yeah. You know, it's – I do remember those stories making him more relatable because it was something that everyone was like, yeah, I have a kid that is the exact same way.

Right. Yeah. And Johnny's in the NHL that way though. Right. And we've, you know, I have a friend who never really got over the, I got over the picky eating thing, but I have a friend who never did. Right.

And it just, you know, again, this is one of these things where we um, we've been talking about this for three hours now, and we've gone from the shock and the emotions of thinking about his family and, and don't get me wrong for his family, you know, they're not going to be ready to smile about this. Yeah.

Not today, but you know, we're not his family. We didn't know him personally. And I think that is part of the process that you, that you go through. You think, oh, you know, horrible tragedy, but then a few things make you smile. Like we've played a couple of his goal calls today and we've, you know, we've had guests on

that have recalled some, uh, some good stories about him. We're talking about his fussy eating. And, you know, it's just what you go through to process this type of news. Yeah. And a reminder that if you want to weigh in throughout the day, the Dunbar-Lemmer text line is 650-650. A lot of people have texted in throughout the last three hours,

sharing their thoughts, their memories of Johnny Goudreau, what they're feeling in the moment, how they're processing this tragedy. Anything goes at this point. The Dunbar-Lemmer text line is there. It's going to be monitored throughout the day and it will be read. But for today,

we do need to say goodbye. We're going to go to break here as we turn things over to the rest of the programming with a special Johnny Goudreau tribute that was put together by the folks at Sportsnet. We'll be back on Monday, but I also want to thank Lena and Zach in particular for producing a show that was incredibly difficult to do. Not that this is about us or about the show,

but I just want to recognize everybody's efforts in trying to do this today as we try and properly honor, remember, and take into account how big a tragedy this is and how many lives this has affected. What will follow is a tribute to Johnny Goudreau signing off for today. I've been Mike Halford. He's been Jason Brough.

She's been Lena. He's been Zach. This has been the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Sportsnet 650 honors the life and legacy of Johnny Goudreau. It's been a long day

without you, my friend. And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again. Good stick check by Sutter, but the Flames keep it in. Gaudreau steps in. Gaudreau shoots and scores!

Johnny Gaudreau roots the puck over Ryan Miller's right shoulder. And the Flames defeat the Canucks and get their first win of the season, three to the final in overtime How else to describe what Johnny could rope to do at top speed gosh, he's flying. He was supersonic He was amazing we began. No, we started. Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again. Scores! Johnny Gondreau

sets the Flames to round two. Bring on the Battle of Alberta. This is a smart goal scorer's goal. From a bad angle, Gondreau just knew that odd derby is still retreating back to the post. And that puck had eyes, and somehow a pretty happy group, and a pretty happy city at the moment in Calgary.

Obviously Calgary has a special place in my heart. I've been part of this organization for 11 years now, so ever since day one I got here, the fans, the organization, my teammates, everything about this city I love. You know, I hope people remember me as, you know, a good person off the ice, a good teammate. You know, just a good person, I love. You know I hope people remember me as you know a good person off the ice, a good teammate, you know just a good person I think.