Florida Panthers Prepared for Emotional Night as Blue Jackets Honor Johnny Gaudreau

The Florida Panthers will be part of an emotional night tributing Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau as the Columbus Blue Jackets play their home opener with heavy hearts.

Photo courtesy of the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets will be opening the season with heavy hearts as they honor the late Johnny Gaudreau with a tribute celebrating his life and impact on hockey in their home opener against the Florida Panthers.

It will be an emotional moment for everyone in the building, as the Blue Jackets take the ice at Nationwide Arena without Gaudreau for the first time since his and his brother, Matthew’s, tragic passing this summer.

That includes mutiple members of the Florida Panthers.

Matthew Tkachuk, who will not be playing on Tuesday night due to an illness, was deeply emotional about the death of his good friend.

The duo spent six years together with the Calgary Flames, combining forces to form one of the most offensively potent lines in hockey during the latter half of their tenures.

They both remained close friends when Gaudreau signed with the Blue Jackets and Tkachuk was traded to Florida in 2022.

“It has been a terrible time, It really has. It is the saddest thing I have ever seen or heard. I was able to go to the service which just breaks your heart.

“Johnny is one of my favorite teammates I ever played with, but he was more than a teammate to me, he was such a great friend. It doesn’t matter if you knew them or played against them, or even if you have a sibling, everyone can relate to this. It has been terrible. You’ll always carry something around. He will always be with me."

Sam Bennett was also very close with Gaudreau.

The two both played together with the Flames since they were rookies up until Bennett was dealt to the Panthers in 2021 — they practically grew up together.

Adam Boqvist was also close with Gaudreau in the two years they spent together in Columbus.

Gaudreau’s signing in Columbus was supposed to represent hope for the city.

A star player chose Columbus after other stars like Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin chose to go elsewhere.

Gaudreau had an indelible impact on the community both on and off the ice, as he had a passion for giving back to the community, and his loss looms large in the hearts of everyone in the city.

Columbus will do its best to honor Gaudreau when they open up Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night.

Both teams will wear jerseys with Gaudreau’s name and his No. 13 on the back during warm-ups before showing a video tribute and providing fans with multiple opportunities to donate to the Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation throughout the evening.

There will not be a dry eye in the building, and the Panthers know the Blue Jackets will come to play with a ton of passion when the puck drops.

“Whatever the fans need, whatever the team needs to start that healing process,” coach Paul Maurice said. “We will be proud to be a part of.”