Columbus Blue Jackets announce plans to remember Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau
(CNN) — The Columbus Blue Jackets announced preliminary plans to remember Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau on Wednesday.
The brothers were killed on August 29 after being struck by a suspected drunken driver while riding bikes on a New Jersey roadway, just hours before they were to serve as groomsmen at their sister’s wedding in Philadelphia.
Johnny Gaudreau played for the Blue Jackets at the time of his passing.
The Blue Jackets’ uniform will be updated for the upcoming season to honor and remember the brothers starting with the team’s first preseason game on September 23.
Players will wear a special sticker on their helmets to remember the brothers and a patch on their jerseys to remember teammate Johnny.
“The sticker is blue with gray trim and features GAUDREAU, two doves between the numbers 13, which Johnny wore throughout his career, and 21, which Matthew wore at Boston College, in white,” the NHL team said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Beginning with the club’s first regular season game at the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, October 10, and continuing throughout the season, Blue Jackets players will wear a patch featuring Johnny’s number 13 on their jerseys,” the Blue Jackets added.
Columbus will hold a moment of silence at its first preseason home game on September 25 against the St. Louis Blues.
The team will also celebrate the memory of the Gaudreau brothers at the Blue Jackets regular season home opener against the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on October 15.
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