Emily Kaplan, ESPNSep 20, 2024, 08:00 AM ET
CloseEmily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter.
WHEN SIDNEY CROSBY remembers Johnny Gaudreau, he thinks of the 2023 All-Star Game in Florida, sitting in gridlock traffic heading from their hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
“It was myself, Johnny and [Kevin Hayes] in the back of the bus,” Crosby said. “Haysey was basically running the back of the bus there. I think he talked for 40 minutes. I don’t think Johnny said anything, but he laughed for the entire 40 minutes.”
For Nathan MacKinnon, it’s one of his personal hockey highlights, scoring the overtime winner for Team North America against Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. MacKinnon still rewatches the clip on YouTube “quite a bit.”
“Johnny was the one that passed it to me,” MacKinnon said. “We became pretty tight at that tournament and had great chemistry on the ice. He was also such a great person. He was never that serious. Just an easygoing guy, gentle with a big heart.”
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Jack Eichel loved being in Europe at the World Championships with Gaudreau, laughing as he struggled to read a non-English menu.
“He’d be trying to explain to the waiter or waitress that he just wanted a steak, a filet with potatoes. He didn’t want anything else on it,” Eichel said. “John was just a really pure human. He didn’t care about nice things. The things that mattered to him were his family, his friends.”
Connor McDavid’s mind goes to epic matchups in the Battles of Alberta.
“He went at everybody and had such a big heart and played hard, despite his size,” McDavid said. “I think he was an inspiration to a lot of guys that feel like they’re undersized. But he was so fun to watch too, so skilled, and so good on his edges.”
Auston Matthews thinks of the way everyone spoke about Gaudreau.
“He’s so beloved by all of his friends, his teammates, his family and the people that knew him,” Matthews said. “It’s kind of hard to just comprehend that Johnny and his brother are no longer with…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/41330251/how-blue-jackets-lean-other-johnny-gaudreau-tragedy
Author : Emily Kaplan
Publish date : 2024-09-20 13:19:51
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