Halford & Brough in the Morning - Remembering Johnny Gaudreau

Episode Date: August 30, 2024

Mike Halford and Jason Brough talk about the Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew who were fatally struck by a vehicle Thursday night while in New Jersey. They reflect on his career and impact in the NHL.  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.

Good morning Vancouver, 6 o'clock on a Friday. You are listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. If you're already wondering why the show sounds different than normal, it's going to be a different show than normal. News overnight that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau was killed Thursday night when he was hit by a car while riding a bicycle in his home state

of New Jersey. Also passing was Johnny Gaudreau's brother, Matthew Gaudreau. That happened late last night. We got confirmation early this morning. I am Mike Halford. He is Jason Brough. This is the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. I'll say good morning to you now, Jason. And obviously not a good morning, but a difficult time. It will be a difficult show. We're going to do our best to navigate this as best as we can

as broadcasters. But again, if you're just tuning in, the major storyline throughout this morning's show for the next three hours that will be on the air on Sportsnet 650 is that Johnny Goudreau tragically killed last night while riding a bicycle hit by a car in his home state of New Jersey. Yeah, so we've been working pretty hard behind the scenes this morning

just trying to get some guests lined up to talk about Johnny Goudreau. I don't know how much there is to say about it other than it being tragic. And Aaron Portsline is going to join us at 7.30. We've canceled a few of our other guests that we had planned, but it's just because we didn't feel right. We didn't feel

right about talking about, you know, we were going to talk to Sean Keeler about Deion Sanders in Colorado. I don't think my heart would be in that. My heart's not really going to be in talking to any guests about the NFL. We're still going to talk to Moj because we will do some sports talk beyond this once we talk about this a little bit more. But it's not going to be the usual hijinks that we've come to expect on a Friday. It would be disrespectful, and I think we just don't want to. Yeah.

So we'll talk to Moj still because the Lions do have a big football game tomorrow in Victoria. It's going to be hopefully a fun event for everyone that goes there. We're just not feeling in the fun mood right now, though. So we will start with all the news that we have available to us. Again, this is a developing story because the incident happened at 8.30 Eastern on Thursday evening, and then confirmation of Johnny Matthew Goudreau's passing occurred very early this morning, Pacific time. New Jersey State Police said that Goudreau was one of two cyclists struck and killed by a car in Salem County, New Jersey.

Salem County, New Jersey is where Johnny Goudreau was born. And reports indicate that he was actually back in town along with his entire family for his sister's wedding, which was supposed to occur this weekend. Gaudreau's younger brother, Matthew, who's 29 years old, as mentioned, was the other victim in the crash. As for the actual news, courtesy of the New Jersey State Police, the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind. Both brothers were pronounced So here's how the news is being delivered to folks early on Friday morning in Philadelphia now. Goudreau grew up in South Jersey and the closest big city to South Jersey is not Newark. It's actually Philadelphia.

And here's I think this is from ABC 6 in Philadelphia. Good Friday morning. We are following breaking news right now. We have just confirmed that NHL star Johnny Goudreau and his brother Matthew were killed in a bicycle crash in Salem County that we've been telling you about all morning long. New Jersey State Police say 43-year-old Sean Higgins of Woodstown was under the influence when he hit the brothers with his SUV along County Route 551 in Oldsman Township last night. Goudreau was a local star before he made it big, graduating from Gloucester Catholic High School. And the tributes from the hockey world are pouring in this morning. We're going to have continuing coverage.

Again, the death of Johnny Goudreau, Johnny Hockey, a father, son, and husband. As mentioned there, Johnny Goudreau, 31 years old. Johnny and his wife, Meredith, gave birth to a daughter in October of 2022 and then most recently gave birth to their first son, also named Johnny. I'll read the statement from the Columbus Blue Jackets who sent this along to give you an idea of the immediacy

and how developing the story is an hour ago on their social media platforms. It's a lengthy one, but I'll read it in full. The Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy. Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.

We extend our heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Meredith, his children, Noah and Johnny, his parents, their family and friends on the sudden loss of Johnny and Matthew. Johnny played the game with great joy, which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice. He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played, from Boston College to the Calgary Flames to Team USA to the Blue Jackets. He thrilled fans in a way only Johnny Hockey could. The impact he had on our organization and our sport was profound, but pales in comparison to the indelible impression he made on everyone who knew him.

Johnny embraced our community when he arrived two years ago, and Columbus welcomed him with open arms. We will miss him terribly and do everything that we can to support his family and each other through this tragedy. At this time, we ask for prayers for the Goudreau family and that their privacy be respected as they grieve. And that was the statement

released about an hour ago from the Columbus Blue Jackets on the passing of Johnny Goudreau. Nick on the drive texts in to the Dunbar-Lumber text line at 650-650 and we do want to hear your thoughts on this story. Nick texts in, what an unreal story, so tragic. Can't imagine what their family is all going through right now.

Both brothers passing before their sister's wedding. Young families. I'm gutted for them. I cannot imagine. Tragedies happen every day. And we do not talk about each one of them, um, like we would in, in this case. But I think that's almost like to protect ourselves. We can't possibly do it.

Sure. Uh, the world is too big, but when this sort of thing happens and a well-known public figure, especially when we're talking about a hockey show, we're all sports fans here. And when something like this happens, we feel a lot of feelings. We feel sadness. Like Nick on the drive texts in, he can't imagine what the family is going through. All the lives that are changed, all the lives that you just, you can't, a young family, his wife, two young kids, now they don't have a dad, um, equally on, on Matthew's side, Johnny's brother. Um, Matthew could, Matthew Goudreau never

turned into the superstar that Johnny Goudreau was, but he equally will have that, um, you know, the knock-on effect throughout his family and his friends and all their lives going forward. And I think what happens when a public figure passes away tragically like this, and certainly we've been through this in Vancouver with Rick Rippon and Luke Bourdain.

And, uh, we just think like it just, it hits us because we have to let us hit us because we know, we know, we know, we don't know these people, but we know who they are. And the hockey world is going to be so different without Johnny hockey. And then we talk, then we start thinking about our lives and the people in our lives who,

and, and, and, you know, I, last night I was thinking, God, how do you deal with this?

You know, I've never, you know, thank God I've never had to deal with a tragedy like this in my life of anyone close to me like this passing like this. I'm sure people who are listening have, and I, I'm not going to try and

put words in their mouths, but I imagine this is, that's one of those things where like you get the news and everything changes. Yeah. And it feels surreal almost that two days ago we had Columbus Blue Jackets president and general manager Don Waddell on, and we were talking about all the changes in Columbus and what the team had gone through in the last year and what the team

wanted to go through this year and um you know that's crazy man let's play some audio let's play some audio out of it but like it's weird because like you know my number one question for Don Waddell not number one but when it came to Johnny Goudreau, it was like, you know, what have you talked about with Johnny? Because, you know, he came over from Calgary to much fanfare, hasn't really worked out for the team since signing Johnny Goudreau. You know, like it seems so, it seems just so ridiculous to be like, you know, we were wondering if he was going to buy into the new culture and and things like that and uh here's what don waddell had to say when i asked him about johnny goudreau i talked to johnny it's funny i talked to him one of the first few days after i got the job and i asked him who his best coaches were and you know daryl sutter was his number one

guy and you know daryl's a hard coach yeah as we know it had lots of success and the second one was bob hartley who i had for five or six years and i know how he is so you know it made me say you know this player likes to be around structure and the accountability factor um i actually took him out to the golf course yesterday he's a big golfer oh yeah so we spent the day in the golf course yesterday. He's a big golfer. Oh, yeah. So we spent the day in the golf course yesterday, and he's pretty damn competitive, I can tell you that. And he does, he wants to win. So that was the question about Johnny Goudreau,

and Don started talking about Dean Evison and what that relationship was going to be like with Johnny Goudreau. Yeah, actually, sorry not to cut you off there, but I listened to the full clip last night. And, you know, it was interesting because Waddell started talking about how maybe they hadn't seen the best of Johnny Goudreau in Columbus because of the situation that was surrounding him. And he said, you know, the environment played a big part

in the first two years of Johnny Goudreau's career in Columbus. And I think playing it the way that we did wasn't necessarily about the quote itself, but in a bigger picture, a lot more instructive of just how shocking this is. Because if you want to put it in perspective, 48 hours ago, we had Johnny Goudreau's general manager on the show talking about his excitement

for the upcoming campaign and you want to talk about how emotions and direction and everything can change and it sounds so trite and so cliched in a heartbeat that entire idea of this being an exciting promising something that you would look forward to time in Columbus is it's a it's a forgotten memory it's a it's a forgotten memory. It's a distant thing now. It's shocking, truly shocking. And I know just repeating the words truly shocking doesn't really hammer at home anymore, but it is just a stunning turn of events in the span of a week.

We got a lot of texts in here, unsigned here. This tragedy is a great reminder not to take life for granted and to cherish your loved ones every day you can. Rest in peace to the Goudreau boys. Um, yeah, it's just, I mean, we all, we all live like this, right? None of us are guaranteed anything.

We're not guaranteed five minutes from now. We're not guaranteed certainly beyond that. Um, but we all know we don't live. We're not guaranteed five minutes from now. We're not guaranteed certainly beyond that. But we all know we don't live like that. We let the little things get to us in life and we let, you know, and in some ways because we have to, right? It is a good reminder every once in a while that we are all going to die, but you can't just live like that. And, um, but it is, I find that these tragedies often give us an opportunity to have some gratitude for what we do have.

Um, we live in one of the greatest countries in the world and yet you see the discourse about this country. And, um, you know, if you know, if you're listening to some people, it sounds like we live in some sort of dystopian nightmare. You know, try and focus on what you do have, on the things, the good things that you do have.

Everyone's going to have frustrations and struggles in life, some more than others. But think of a tragedy like this and how, if you're Johnny Goudreau's wife, or you're a family member of Matthew Goudreau and, um, you know, yesterday you were worried about, I don't know, your car needing to get a, you know, some money put into it. It means nothing now. It means absolutely nothing. So I think it is probably important and instructive to remind everyone that this isn't just Johnny Goudreau's passing that we're focusing on today. As mentioned, both he and his younger brother, Matthew Goudreau,

passed away tragically as the two were cycling in their hometown of Salem, New Jersey, last night. Now, Matthew, for those that don't know, also played professional hockey, both at the American League and the ECHL level, following a career at Boston College, where the Goudreau brothers actually spent one year together playing as teammates at the university level. We should also mention that Johnny and Matthew

are survived by their parents, Guy and Jane Goudreau, as well as their siblings, their sisters, Kristen and Katie. There are multiple reports that the entire family was gathered in Salem, New Jersey this weekend. Just an unspeakable tragedy because the sister, Katie, was set to be married this weekend. Just an unspeakable tragedy because the sister Katie was set to be married this weekend and that Johnny and Matthew

were going to be acting as groomsmen in the wedding. Johnny Goudreau was born in Salem, New Jersey, where the accident happened. He grew up in nearby Kearney's Point Township. And for those that don't know

the arc of his career, he went to the United States Hockey League and he played in Iowa with the Dubuque Saints and actually graduated from high school there. And it was there where his career really took off. It was actually following that first year at USHL where he was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the fourth round of the 2011 draft.

But the Johnny Hockey aura and mystique and star really didn't take off until he became a member of the Boston College men's hockey program and then got to share that one year where he was able uh to play with his brother Johnny Goudreau uh really burst onto the scene at Boston College in his freshman year because boston college also won a national title that year and that's when you really started to hear more about this diminutive five foot six puck handling wizard who there were some questions about his ability um coming out of the ushl like will his game translate despite how small he was to the next level and then just burst onto the scene at the ncaa level and a lot of people really started to take notice and say hey what's going on here because as a freshman

for the best team in the country he won the beanpot MVP he won the hockey east tournament MVP like he was a difference maker on a national championship team in his freshman year and then you really started to see his star take off more and more as his collegiate career went on. His sophomore year, I think a lot of people remember it because he was on that World Junior team in 2013 for Team USA that captured gold. That was the one that was kind of famously backstopped by John Gibson, who won tournament MVP. But Goudreau was an all-tournament team member. He led the American team in scoring on a gold medal winning team and then went back to BC, and that was the first year that he got nominated and finished as one of the finals for the Hobie Baker.

And then in 2014, his junior year, which is the year he actually went back to school as opposed to maybe turning pro because he had already been drafted by Calgary, that was the year he got to play with his brother Matthew Goudreau, and that was also the year that he won the hobie baker now um there are a lot of ties to the vancouver canucks interestingly enough from the early stages of johnny goudreau's career um i didn't realize this until doing the research very late last night as in case anyone is tuning in right now uh we are talking about the tragic passing of johnny goudreau and his brother matth talking about the tragic passing of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau.

Johnny Gaudreau of the Columbus Blue Jackets died in a vehicle bicycling. Him and his brother were bicycling yesterday, last night in New Jersey. Gaudreau's first ever NHL goal came in his first ever NHL game in his first ever NHL shot against the Vancouver Canucks.

And Jacob Markson was in that in a 5-1 loss for the Calgary Flames. And, you know, for a lot of Canucks fans, a lot of people listening, we saw a lot of Johnny Gaudreau and all the outstanding on-ice accomplishments he had as a member of the Calgary Flames. I think a lot of people remember the 2015 playoff series, which was Goudreau's official rookie year because he did only play in that one game after turning pro from Boston College. And I think a lot of people remember Johnny Goudreau scoring a lot of points in that first round playoff series victory over the Vancouver Canucks in 2015, that six game victory, including the closeout game where he had a goal and three points in a victory over the Vancouver

Canucks and that was the Willie Desjardins team that made the playoffs that year rather surprisingly so there's a lot there's a lot to unpack here obviously from the memories side of things the condolences side of things trying to bring across the news part of this which we will be doing throughout the show and again if you want to weigh in with any thoughts, any memories, any condolences, any messages you want to pass along, I know this news is hitting a lot of our listeners exceptionally hard because a lot of people,

there's a lot of Calgary Flames fans here. And quite frankly, there's a lot of Johnny Goudreau fans here who admired the way that he played hockey. Yeah, he was one of those guys where when he picked up the puck as a Canucks fan, I way that he played hockey. Yeah. He was one of those guys where when he picked up the puck, um, as a Canucks fan, I was like, Oh boy.

Yeah. This isn't going to be good. No. And he was just so unbelievably talented. And he was part of the wave of undersized players that entered the NHL. And, uh, you know,

the hockey world kind of went, uh, you know, the hockey world kind of went, Hmm, we should be giving these guys more of a chance. Yeah. And the game has changed a little bit since the hooking and holding and obstructionist ways of the, uh, eighties and nineties, especially the nineties.

But, you know, I was reading last night before this news had been confirmed, but there were all sorts of rumors about it on social media. So I knew that we were probably going to have to talk about this today. And, um, you know, I was reading this article in the athletic about how the flames ended up

drafting Goudreau and they had a quote from his dad and he said, I think people see him now. And it's like, okay, he's a good hockey player plays in the NHL, but a lot of people don't realize all the times he's been cut and told he's too small and he fought through all that to get to where he's at. That's probably what I'm the proudest of. And, you know, everyone has, everyone who makes it to the NHL has their own story of various challenges they've overcome. If you're a late round pick, you haven't had good odds of making it to the NHL. But even if you're a first round pick, you've

got the pressure of now you've been drafted, now you actually have to perform. And Johnny Goudreau had an especially unique story behind him. And a lot of that was just how small he was compared to his teammates. And yet consistently he was, if not the best, one of the best players on his team.

And we all remember the day that he chose to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets. And again, all this seems like, yeah, who cares? Like we made a big deal out of it, but it was a big deal in the sports world. Sure. In the sports world. And that's the world we live in.

Um, and you know, his decision to sign with Columbus, like why, why did he leave Calgary? Why didn't he go to Philly? What happened there? And we talked about it and we wondered about it. And, um, you know, we, we wondered at times during watching the Columbus Blue Jacks over the first two years, if he'd made a mistake, uh, going to

Columbus, but there's so much more to his life and there's so much more to everyone's life than the work that they do. And I just can't stop thinking about his wife and two young kids and, um, how you deal with that, how you do and what you feel when you get delivered news like this.

Um, again, we've been through this, um, as a fan base in Vancouver with, uh, Luke Bourdain and Rick Rippon. And I would add Jason Botchford to that list as well. Now, Mike and I had to go through that, um, with Botch as a friend and a colleague. Um, but I, it's nothing compared to what Jason's

family had to go through. Um, you know, this is the type of thing. It just, it, it impacts so many lives that just, uh, it just, uh, such a, a significant and like shocking and just like punch in the gut way. And I think it might be also a good reminder to, um, you know, when you're wondering, you know, I constantly wonder in this world,

especially when I see the dialogue on social media and I just see where things are going. And I go, what, what, you know, what made you like this? Why are you like this? And why do you behave like this? Um, and you never know what people have gone through in their lives.

You never know the loss that they've dealt with in their lives. And I apologize, I'm rambling a little bit right now, but like this type of stuff should get you thinking about life and how things can change like that. And when you are lucky enough to have people that you're close with, your family, your friends, loved ones, kids, grandkids, appreciate them, have some gratitude.

Don't let all the other garbage eclipse or overshadow that gratitude you have in your life. Think of the Goudreau family right now. Think of Johnny Goudreau's wife, who's going to be thinking about, I'm going to raise these kids without their dad. You know, it's, it is hard to think about it. And I wouldn't be surprised if some people are like, I'm going to flip the channel and

talk about something and listen to something else because this is hard. I don't blame you. Go ahead and do that if you feel like that. But, um, this is one of these moments where, you know, in some ways you should feel it. And we get reminded of this sort of stuff. Not every day, but it has happened. Again, I mentioned like, I remember when Luke Bordon passed and I was like, what?

21 years old, Luke Bordon in a motorcycle accident. I remember when Rick Rippin passed and that was so tragic because then we all wondered what Rick Rippin had been doing or had been going through, um, that he felt the need to take his life. When Jason Botchford passed, I remember the news that I got, I was at an airport actually. And, um, I was actually just coming back from a really fun bachelor party, and I got the news, and Mike and I had to sit on that news for a couple of days.

We even had to do a show knowing that Jason had passed, but the news wasn't out there because we had to respect the privacy of his family, and having to go on the air and break that news to everyone was really hard because we knew it would hit people hard. And that it would just change the way that hockey was covered in Vancouver. It would just change a lot. And we still miss Botch today. We still wonder, you know, we still miss Rick Rippon. And we're appreciative of the legacy that was left behind by Rick Rippon and all the good things that did come from that.

People talking about mental health, people talking about their problems. And we remember Luke Bourdain and we wonder what could have been. We were just talking about the 2006 World Juniors with Justin Pogge. Yeah. And Luke Bourdain was a big member of the Canadian team on that. We're going to take a quick break here.

We will read some more of your text. We will at some point return to a little bit of sports talk, but I do want to read some of your texts about this and what you're thinking, how this news hit you. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. 632 on a Friday. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

If you have been listening or if you're just tuning in, you'll probably start to notice that today's show sounds an awfully lot different than most Halford & Brough shows on Sportsnet 650, and especially a Friday show. That is because overnight, news was confirmed from New Jersey State Police and the Columbus Blue Jackets that forward Johnny Goudreau, 31 years old, was killed after a suspected drunk driver crashed into him and his brother, Matthew Goudreau, while cycling on a rural road in their home city of Salem, New Jersey. The incident occurred at approximately 8.30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday evening. Confirmation of the brother's passing occurred very early this morning. So Jason and I both understand that a lot of people right now might be waking up to news that is remarkably shocking in nature. Stunning, unexpected, heartbreaking, tragic,

whatever word you want to use. So that is why today's show sounds the way that it does. I listened to Fan 960 Sportsnet's Calgary affiliate radio station on the way in. And that was one of the more difficult listens that I've ever heard on live radio. They were just taking caller after caller. Obviously, I can't even imagine the volume of Calgary Flames fans that absolutely adored Johnny Gaudreau. While he was a member of the Calgary Flames and then after adored Johnny Gaudreau while he was a member of the Calgary Flames.

And then after he left as well, I should point out that was a lot of the sentiments that were coming from fans. It just makes you realize also too, how, how separate sports emotions are from real life emotions. A hundred percent. And I'm sure there are a lot of Flames fans who

even had some fun, you know, poking fun at Johnny Goudreau when he chose to go to Columbus. He might've even, you know, secretly enjoyed the fact that, or not even secretly enjoyed the fact that Columbus was struggling while he was there. And that was the decision that he made. But that's, that's why we separate, you know, and some people have trouble doing this. We separate emotions from covering a sports team from real life emotions. Sure. Now, I just want to say for those that are wondering about the story itself, inherently tragic in nature. Anytime two young men pass in a fashion like this, it's an unspeakable tragedy to add. And I'm not trying to like pile on,

but I do want to add context just to exactly what everyone is going through. Most importantly, the Goudreau family, according to multiple reports, the Goudreau family was gathered for Goudreau's younger sister's wedding. That was set to occur this weekend. Katie Goudreau actually posted pictures to her social media profile yesterday of the wedding rehearsal.

So Johnny and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, who also passed in this tragic incident, were set to be groomsmen at her upcoming wedding. I should also note that according to New Jersey State Police, the driver who hit the Gaudreau brothers was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol. Police subsequently charged him with two counts of death by auto and took him into a local correctional facility. Yeah, I think what happened was there was a another vehicle on the road that had moved to the left in order to make room for, uh,

Johnny and Matthew who were on their bikes. And, uh, there was a drunk driver who thought that he would pass it all on the right. And, uh, that's where the,

the Goudreau brothers were. Um, and there's a lot of texts coming in just as a reminder, don't drink and drive. Yeah. You know, you, you not only change the lives of the victims and their families, you'll change your life too.

If you want to take it from a self-perspective, as a reminder, if you're one of these people that's selfish enough to drink and drive, well, here's how I can selfishly convince you not to do it that guy's going to jail and that guy's life has changed significantly that guy is going to feel the wrath of uh johnny goudreau's family and of the hockey world and all Johnny Goudreau's fans and Matthew's friends and family. Um, don't do it. It's not worth it. It's not a matter of, uh, your decision should not be based on whether or not you're going to get caught. Your decision should not be based on, Oh, I hope they don't have a cop with a breathalyzer. Your decision should be based on what happens if I kill someone because of this selfish mood.

And, you know, even if you have no feelings at all, no empathy for others, your life is not going to be good. Don't do it. Torgy texts in, as a father of three i'm just lost for words i can't imagine what his family is going through such a young family whose lives have been completely changed i'm really sad right now it's almost like you know him in a way because of being a part of the hockey world rest rest easy, Johnny and Matthew. Yeah, we saw him maybe a little more up close than a lot of fan bases in the NHL. He was with the Flames in the Canucks division.

For a long time. For a long time. And there was a playoff series against the Calgary Flames with Johnny Goudreau on that, which went Calgary's way and not Vancouver's. Steven Ladner texted and says, there was a playoff series against the Calgary Flames with Johnny Goudreau on that, which went Calgary's way and not Vancouver's. Steven Ladner texted and says, there's a lot of high-profile Americans on the Canucks. Probably many of his friends are on the Canucks.

This is probably hitting the team very hard. Thatcher Dempka was his teammate. Yeah. In Boston College. Yeah. Yeah, we talked about Goudreau's career was established in so many different places. And in the earlier part, in the first half hour of the program, we went through the sort of origin story to the rise of a lot of these outstanding American

hockey players that we see in the National Hockey League right now. The 2013 World Junior Team, if you go back and look at that roster, you know, it's littered with guys that went on to have tremendous NHL careers. Johnny Goudreau, of course, was a member of that gold medal winning team in 2013. And I mentioned earlier, he was famously backstopped by John Gibson, who's gone on to have a pretty remarkable NHL career himself. And then I know I'm reiterating

what a lot of you may have heard in the first segment, but I think it's worth bringing up because of the ties to our market is that Johnny Goudreau and the Vancouver Canucks in the early stages of his career, they were often like hand in hand. Johnny Goudreau and the Vancouver Canucks in the early stages of his career, they were often like hand in hand. Johnny Goudreau's first ever NHL goal was scored against the Vancouver Canucks.

In his first game. On his first ever shot. So actually the timeline went back in 2014. He won the Hobie Baker. The day after winning the Hobie Baker, he signed his entry level deal with the Calgary Flames and then a day after that played that one game

right at the tail end of the 2013-2014 NHL campaign against the Vancouver Canucks it was Jacob Marksterman goal and it was the only goal that the Calgary Flames scored in a loss that night and it was Johnny Gaudreau's first NHL goal on his first NHL shot in his first NHL game and it was Johnny Gaudreau's first NHL goal on his first

NHL shot in his first NHL game and it was against the Vancouver Canucks. Yeah, I was reading last night a lot of articles about his unlikely story just because of how small he was. And I think a lot of people, you know, like they're small and then they're Johnny Gaudreau small when it comes to professional athletes. Um, and this was an article in Sports Illustrated about how the family was like trying to fatten them up and trying to get them all, all these, uh, you know, like eating so much meat, just trying to, and there's like nothing worked.

And, uh, his dad joked, I'll put you in the garage, then tie you up by both ends and stretch you out. Right. Like, I mean, I mean, it's, it's okay to, to smile a little bit if you, if you hear these stories. Um, you know, here's another quote, um,

from his mom. He looks like he could be your paper boy. Um, and, uh, in, uh, when Goudreau apparently reported to his first summer camp as a fourth round pick in 2011, Flame staffers initially thought he was just another fan seeking autographs. Um, Mike and I have told this story a few

times about, um, when we were traveling to the all-star game in Columbus and I don't know what airport we were at. We were at a connecting airport. It was a Chicago, right? So, cause you can't, there's no direct flights probably from Calgary or Vancouver to Columbus. So we were in the Chicago airport and we saw

Johnny Goudreau and he had a backpack on and he looked like, he looked like a little kid. He was, he was, he was holding a personalized pan pizza from the pizza hut, one of the small ones. And he looked like a little kid. He was holding a personalized pan pizza from the Pizza Hut, one of the small ones. And he looked like a teenager. Actually, he was 5'6", and he had a baby face. And this was his rookie year in the NHL.

We mentioned he played the one game in 13-14. But in his rookie year, he actually started slow and then just took off in November and December and was the Flames representative at the All-Star Game in Columbus that year and actually was one of the stars of the weekend because he was doing all the crazy stuff and the shootout challenge like the competition the crazy trick shot stuff and I remember there was a story going around that they wanted to do something crazy like lighting a stick on fire and the NH I was like please don't do that uh good and

that was where there was a couple things I remember about that weekend and one was you could see that um you could see that his star was on the rise and two you realize that he was very much in that Patrick Kane mold of player where the puck handling skills and the water bugging was at such a high level that he wasn't going to have a problem being really good at the NHL level. Cause it was still his rookie year. And if you go back and look at, and I know they were talking about this and fan nine,

six or sorry, Calgary sports at radio nine 60 this morning, all the memories, they, a lot of the people that were calling in were talking about that he was really, really good in the clutch. A lot of people are pointing to some of the... Because he was a dynamo in three-on-three overtime

because he was such a talented puck handler. He scored some big goals against Dallas, didn't he? He scored the series clinching goal against Dallas, and that was that last year in Calgary, which, I mean... There was a lot of people that didn't think he was going to be a playoff performer. Right. He was...

He had struggled at times. He was over... In that last playoff run they had in Calgary, he was over a point-of-game guy. But if you go back to his regular season, that 2022 regular season where he was playing with, among others, former Vancouver Canuck, Elias Lindholm, and Matthew Kachuk,

both guys that left. But on that line that was just so dynamic and so good gaudreau was a first team nhl also like you don't get those kind of yeah uh you don't get those kind of um plaudits and acknowledgements without being one of the elite and i'm talking like top percent one of the three to five best forwards in the entire game for that calendar year of 2022 one of the many to five best forwards in the entire game for that calendar year of 2022. One of the many things I think about when a tragedy like this happens is how parents break the news to fans of Johnny Goudreau or even just fans of hockey. I'm going to read a text here. It's unsigned. Incredibly sad and heartbreaking for everyone.

My son came into our room late last night to tell me, and it reminded me of when Peli Lindbergh passed when I was a kid. I still remember my own father telling me that when it happened, I feel for the entire Goudreau family. Yeah. I remember that too.

Um, you know, Peli Lindbergh, incredible goalie for the Flyers, um, in the eighties. Um, I think it was the 1985 Stanley Cup final where it was the Flyers and the Oilers. And then Peli Lindbergh tragically passed away in, in, in a car accident. And then two years later it was Ron Hextall in that for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Edmonton Oilers in, in the Stanley Cup final.

But I would have been nine years old, I think, when that news broke about Peli Lindbergh. And I remember thinking like, and it was actually like, it was very tragic. I mean, they had, they had they had him on life support essentially, but everyone knew he wasn't going to make it. And I remember, you know, you're nine years old and you're like, what, this can happen? This sort of thing can happen?

And someone had texted in, I'm just going to paraphrase the text because a lot of text in the Dunbar-Lumber text line right now and they were just saying like how tragedies do happen every day but when it happens to these professional athletes it hits different in a lot of ways just you know because we do feel like we know

them it's not easy to just be like well tragedies happen every day it's a big world right but also because of how invincible they Um, it's not easy to just be like, well, tragedies happen every day. It's a big world. Right. But also because of how invincible they seem at times, you know, they are. I think it's a big part of it. I think it's a big part of it. They are, um, they have the, the lives that a lot of people dream of and, you know, you see

there's, you know, if they, if they have, um, clips of what they're doing in summer, they're playing golf or they're on the lake, and they're being like, cool, right? Like, wow, what lives these guys have, right? They're young. They're good-looking. They're good athletes.

They're getting paid a lot of money. They got all the toys. And then you realize they're just like us, and they are as mortal as anyone on this earth. I do want to pass along a statement from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. It was released this morning shortly after news broke of the passing of Johnny Gaudreau. Again, it's a lengthy statement, as was the one I read earlier from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but I think it's more than worth reading them in full because they do sort of encapsulate how profound a loss this is shocking

sudden and tragic a loss it is and how much Johnny Gaudreau meant to the Columbus Blue Jackets the Calgary Flames the National Hockey League and the game of hockey given his unique unique role in it as a diminutive undersized player who we've talked about, was able to overcome a lot of biases and prejudices against players of his size to become one of the best players in the league. This is the following statement from NHL Commissioner Gary Vettman on the passing of Johnny Gaudreau. The National Hockey League family is shocked and saddened by the tragic passing

of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew. While Johnny's infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname Johnny Hockey, he was more than just a dazzling hockey player. He was a doting father and a beloved husband, son, brother, and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to cross his path. Gaudreau often told the story of how his father taught him to skate as a child in his home state of New Jersey, and that he carried the same youthful passion throughout his 11 NHL

seasons. A skilled playmaker, Gaudreau participated in the NHL All-Star Game seven times, where he was always a fan favorite, particularly while showcasing his talents in the various skills competitions for which he was so well suited. He will be remembered fondly in Calgary, where he played his first nine seasons with the Flames from 2013-14 to 2021-22, emerging as one of our league's brightest young stars while compiling the franchise's fifth highest career points total. His loss will also be felt profoundly in Columbus, the city,

which he chose to settle in with his family and where he was one of the most respected veteran leaders of a club building towards the playoffs. And both Johnny and Matthew will be mourned at Boston college where they were teammates. The year Johnny won the Hobie Baker in 2013, 2014. They will also be mourned at Gloucester Catholic high school in New Jersey where they were teammates the year Johnny won the Hobie Baker in 2013-2014. They will also be mourned at Gloucester Catholic High School in New Jersey, where both played, and where Matthew was the head hockey coach following his own five-year pro playing career.

We send our most heartfelt condolences to his wife, Meredith, their children, Noah and Johnny, his parents, Guy and Jane, his sisters, Kristen and Katie. And we grieve alongside his teammates, members of the Blue Jackets and Flames organizations, his many friends in hockey and countless fans across the world for whom he created indelible memories on and off the ice. And that was the statement from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the passing of Johnny Gaudreau. I'm going to read a few more of your texts into the Dunbar Lumber text line.

As someone who is getting ready for my wedding that will have my brothers as groomsmen and a father of two young kids, I cannot begin to fathom how that family feels. Everyone drive a little slower and a little safer today and hug your loved ones. Austin in Langley texts in, I took my son for a walk yesterday and when we went to cross the street, a guy turning right

let us cross. The guy behind him started laying on the horn wondering why the guy in front of him wasn't turning, obviously not seeing us. People are in too much of a damn rush to get anywhere, not realizing they're driving a 2,000 pound weapon. It's just so sad.

Details show how avoidable this could have been. Just awful. Tragedies by their nature in a lot of ways are avoidable. And we always think, what if this? What if that? But they happen. And the unlucky ones suffer the consequences and they are, um,

a reminder to all of us to slow down a little bit, to look around, to let the little things bother you in life. Um, you know, I know that's difficult. I mean, for example, how many parents are out there right now worried about or stressing out about, you know, all the things they've got to do in order to get the kids back to school.

You know, taking a moment, take a moment today and just appreciate the kids, you know? And I think that's, that's, that's a lesson if we can take from all this, but for now, I don't even know if a lot of people are at lesson stages right now. They're just still trying to absorb this news. Yeah, so we fully understand that a lot of people are going to be waking up to this news.

The timing of the accident and Johnny Gaudreau's passing, just to set it sort of chronologically, the accident occurred at 8.30 p.m. Eastern last night in New Jersey. And as Jason alluded to earlier in the show, there were numerous unconfirmed rumors and reports on social media that some sort of tragedy had happened involving Johnny Goudreau. But confirmation of Johnny Matthew Goudreau's passing did not happen until the very, very, very early hours of Friday morning Pacific time. So we came in understanding that two things.

One, the usual Halford and Brough show, especially with our usual Friday hijinks, wasn't appropriate and quite frankly, just didn't feel even remotely close to right with either of us. And we were in lockstep about that. Two, we also understood that we were probably going to be the bearers of this awful news to a lot of people who were going to be completely dumbfounded and blindsided and struck with everything that goes into hearing this news for the first time. I'm sure you probably reached out to a couple people that you knew last night when you heard that this was occurring and the responses that i did when i was talking to people were across the board just complete shock complete shock so in light of that today's show will

sound different and at times may be repetitive but it's for a bigger purpose, and that's to, one, let everyone know what's going on, and then, two, provide an opportunity for people to text in to the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket at 650-650. If you want to weigh in with your thoughts, your memories of Johnny Gaudreau, what you're feeling in the moment, we will read those texts throughout the show. We're also going to dedicate a large part of today's show to trying to find guests who can talk about johnny gaudreau i believe we have aaron port's line from the athletic uh long time columbus blue jackets beat writer is going to be joining us at 7 30 i think we have ryan leslie ryan leslie from calgary at 8 30 at 8 30 and we'll be efforting

throughout the show trying to get guests on to talk about Johnny Goudreau. So we are still going to talk a little bit of sports. Moja is going to join us next. And we'll talk about the Lions game this weekend. You know, it's a big game for the Lions. It seems kind of tried to say that. But, you know, I do hope that the people over in Victoria do have a good time and the weather is beautiful. I don't think they could pick better weather for this

game. It's a big game for the Lions. We'll talk to Moj a little bit about that, but we'll also obviously talk to Moj about his feelings about when he, or his thoughts about when he first heard this news about Johnny Goudreau and his brother, Matthew. And Ryan Gould is going to join us at eight o'clock and we'll have, Matthew. And Ryan Gould is going to join us at eight o'clock and we'll have a quick

conversation with Ryan Gould of the White Caps. Ryan is going to play for Scotland. Hopefully he gets capped this time and actually does play a game. He has been on the Scottish roster before, right? At some internationals, but he never got to play.

So he never actually got his cap. So we'll talk to Ryan about the Whitecaps season. They're heading off to another Canadian championship and Ryan scored both goals in the two games against Pacific to put themselves in that championship. And they'll play TFC at BC Place in the final. So we'll talk to Ryan about his accomplishments. Most of the show is going to be dedicated to

talking about Johnny Goudreau, Matthew Goudreau and the unspeakable tragedy that has occurred. Both passed away. It was an accident in South New Jersey. They were riding their bikes and they were hit by a driver who was believed to be under the influence. Both passed away. Johnny Goudreau, 31 years old.

31 years old. Matthew, 29. 29 years old. Text into the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650-650. We'd love to hear your thoughts on all this. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.