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Greg Wyshynski, ESPNSep 6, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
ARLINGTON, Va. — Johnny Gaudreau was Will Smith‘s hockey idol.
The 19-year-old San Jose Sharks forward was a Boston College superfan before attending the school where Gaudreau became an NCAA legend. Gaudreau’s presence was everywhere when Smith played at BC, from the record books to the trophy cases inside the Eagles’ arena. Now, the Columbus Blue Jackets star is being remembered inside Conte Forum with flowers and memorial tributes.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother, Matthew, 29, were killed on Aug. 29 by a suspected drunken driver while riding their bikes in New Jersey. It’s a tragedy that continues to reverberate through the hockey world — including among the young players at the NHLPA rookie showcase in Arlington who grew up watching the All-Star winger make magic on the ice.
“He meant everything. Even his nickname: Johnny Hockey. It’s something that’ll live on forever,” Smith said. “It’s tragic news. It’s really tough right now.”
Gaudreau went from Smith’s hockey idol to his teammate on the U.S. national team at the IIHF world championships in Czechia earlier this year. Smith recalled one memorable moment when a contingent of Boston College players — including Gaudreau, Kevin Hayes and Ryan Leonard — played a round of golf together on an off day.
“He was always making us laugh. It was one of those days I’ll always remember,” Smith said.
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Smith’s new teammate Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL draft, never met Gaudreau but still felt the magnitude of his loss.
“You never really expect something like that to happen. And when it does … even if you don’t really know him that well, it definitely it hits you hard. He was someone that I grew up watching as a player,” he said. “With him and Matthew, it’s just a tragedy what happened.”
Celebrini attended Boston University, the archrival of Gaudreau’s Boston College. So did Montreal Canadiens rookie defenseman Lane Hutson, who was also a Gaudreau fan.
“Every time he touched the puck, it was a highlight reel. He was a really special talent and special guy,” Hutson said. “At the end of the day, there’s a rivalry, but you put that aside. It’s a saddening loss.”
Players around the NHL are processing the tragedy in the days leading up to training camp. The NHLPA said it sent a memo to Columbus players offering counseling services to any player who might need them.
“It’s a really sad situation. The loss of two young lives. I think there’s a lot of players still in shock,” said Marty Walsh, executive director of the NHLPA. “I mean, this ripples through every team, every locker room. It ripples through Boston College. I think we just have to be there as best we can for the family. We just have to be there when they need us.”
Anaheim Ducks rookie Cutter Gauthier, Smith’s teammate at Boston College, remembered how news of the tragedy hit hard among the players.
“On the day it happened, and we went to the gym and everyone’s got a pit in their stomach. It’s just an awful day. It still just sucks,” Gauthier said. “He had a huge legacy at Boston College, being one of three guys who won the Hobey Baker and just carrying a legacy. It’s just really heartbreaking.”
Rutger McGroarty rewatched Gaudreau’s Hobey Baker acceptance speech online after his death. “I mean, it’s Johnny Hockey. The stuff said about him, not one bad thing was said about the guy,” he said. “Just a smile on his face every day. Coming in, laughing. But he also got to work.”
McGroarty noted that Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield changed his number to No. 13 this season in tribute to Gaudreau.
“He had such an impact on smaller guys [like Caufield], proving that he could do it all,” McGroarty said. “He had a great career. God rest his soul.”
McGroarty, Gauthier happy to move on
The NHLPA rookie showcase was the first time many players had a chance to put on their teams’ jerseys.
For Cutter Gauthier, that meant donning the Ducks’ new sweaters in vibrant orange with a classic “Mighty Ducks” logo on the front.
“I think they’re sweet. I like them a lot. I think they did a good job with the logo,” said Gauthier, admiring the jersey.
Josh Doan and Cutter Gauthier showing off the new Utah and Ducks duds respectively at the NHLPA rookie showcase. pic.twitter.com/PjcdkUsr7h
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 4, 2024
There’s a certain amount of irony to Cutter Gauthier ending up draped in orange as an NHL player.
He was drafted fifth by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022 NHL draft, wearing an orange Flyers jersey as he expressed his excitement about joining the franchise.
But the Flyers ended up trading Gauthier to the Ducks in early January for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round selection in the 2025 NHL draft. It had become apparent that, in the words of Comcast Spectacor chairman Dan Hilferty, “his mind was made up that he didn’t want to be in Philadelphia.”
The reaction to his decision from some fans was lamentable. Gauthier claimed there were death threats made among the hundreds of messages he received. Fans showed up in Flyers jerseys to his Boston College games. Hilferty himself offered a vitriolic farewell, saying, “I don’t really feel bad for Cutter when he comes to Philadelphia. It’s going to be a rough ride here and he earned it.”
And yet here was Gauthier this week, still wearing orange.
“Yeah, all-orange too, after they switched jerseys,” he said of the Ducks’ new look. “But no issues against the orange. It looks good.”
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The Ducks are scheduled to visit the Flyers on Jan. 11, 2025. From the moment the trade happened, Gauthier has been asked about that first visit to Philadelphia.
“It’ll be a fun game. Obviously, lots of excitement and lots of buzz around it. I’m not really too worried about it. Just go out there and play my game and do my thing and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
He doesn’t feel the controversy with the Flyers will impact his rookie season with the Ducks.
“I don’t think that [situation] has any pressure on me whatsoever,” he said. “Things didn’t work out. I’m excited to be a Duck now and move forward with them and hopefully do whatever I can to help them win.”
While it wasn’t nearly as a contentious, Rutger McGroarty made a similar decision with the team that drafted him.
The Winnipeg Jets selected him 14th in the 2022 NHL draft, but he declined to sign with the team after citing concerns about his “development path” with the franchise. The Jets decided to trade McGroarty and found a fit with the Pittsburgh Penguins in August in exchange for forward prospect Brayden Yager.
That’s not to say there wasn’t backlash from fans toward McGroarty on social media.
“Yeah, I won’t dive too deep into that, but there is some stuff for sure. I’ll go scroll through Instagram and something pops up. It’s there. It’s always going to be there. You just have to live with it, learn from it, and just kind of move on,” he said. “But when I got to Pittsburgh, I got some really nice messages from some fans and I feel like they’re excited, so it was really cool to see that.”
Those fan interactions are part of being a pro athlete. So is having private talks with a team suddenly become public information, which was another learning experience for McGroarty.
“The media does such a good job finding stuff out,” he said to reporters. “I mean, for me, I’m happy that it was in the middle of the summer instead of during the season. When everything came out at first it caught me off guard a little bit, but it happens. It’s where we live in nowadays. It didn’t bother me too much.”
New @penguins Rutger McGroarty said his favorite part of the NHLPA rookie combine was meeting Matt Rempe of the @NYRangers.
“One of a kind guy, honestly. Such a nice guy. So down to earth, just an amazing guy.” pic.twitter.com/p4EnPjtxHP
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 4, 2024
Like Gauthier, McGroarty is happy how it all turned out. The NHLPA showcase was his first time in a Penguins jersey — albeit one that didn’t have his name or number on it yet. He praised the organization’s championship history. He called GM Kyle Dubas “an incredible hockey mind” after having talked with him this summer. And, of course, he’s “pumped” to become a teammate of Sidney Crosby‘s.
“Obviously I’m an American. I love the USA. But that golden goal he scored [in the 2010 Olympics]? That’s so cool. It gives you chills when you watch it to this day,” he said. “I mean, who isn’t a Sid guy?”
The “Doan Family Curse”
The NHLPA rookie showcase was also the first time Josh Doan wore a jersey with “UTAH” emblazoned across the chest, as a charter member of the NHL’s newest team.
“It’s a once-in-lifetime opportunity to play with the new organization. You can get that vibe that it’s going to be a hockey city,” Doan said. “Obviously to get a chance to play in my first game in the same jersey that my dad wore was super special. But there’s an exciting opportunity in Utah.”
Josh Doan wearing an NHL Utah jersey for the first time with inaugural patch. pic.twitter.com/ridCDPf1NQ
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 4, 2024
That’s the bittersweet part for Doan: The beginning of the Utah Hockey Club meant the end of the Arizona Coyotes.
Arizona is the team he grew up cheering for as a young fan, where his father, Shane, spent his 21-year NHL career. It’s the franchise that drafted him 37th in 2021, with whom he made his NHL debut for 11 games last season.
“I was a fan from day one of the Coyotes. If you lose your hometown team, it’s never going to be easy, no matter what sport it is,” he said. “It’s a new opportunity for me and that’s kind of how we’re taking it. It’s exciting. It’s an opportunity that my dad had at the beginning of his career, so it’s crazy how that worked out.”
Hockey can be a sport of weird coincidences, and the Doan family is no exception. Shane Doan debuted with the Winnipeg Jets in 1995-96, playing one season before the franchise relocated to Phoenix. Josh Doan made his debut for the Arizona Coyotes last season, and the team was then sold to Smith Entertainment Group and moved to Salt Lake City for the 2024-25 season.
Josh Doan played in the final game for the Arizona Coyotes, and is now a member of the Utah Hockey Club. Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images
“We’ve seen a couple of things out there about how our family has cursed a couple teams. That if I have a kid then no one should draft him. Stuff like that,” Josh Doan said. “To have that kind of start off my NHL career is really funny and definitely a unique experience.”
Also unique: joining a team that doesn’t have a name yet.
Doan defended it as a matter of bad timing.
“A lot of people put a little heat on our organization for not having the name ready, but it was such a bang-bang thing where there was no way to really get anything sorted out besides have the Utah Hockey Club for the first year,” he said. “As players, we don’t mind it. The jerseys are nice. It’s got the ‘UTAH’ on it. We like it and we’ll have fun with it.”
Utah’s new team will have a name before too long, with heavy speculation in hockey circles that “Yeti” will be the eventual moniker.
That would be fine by Doan: He cast his vote for “Yeti” in the online poll for the team’s new name.
“Yeti would be pretty cool. It’s Utah, the mountains and everything. That would be probably my top choice,” he said.
Latest on CBA talks
The collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA expires at the end of the 2025-26 season. This will be the first CBA negotiated by Marty Walsh, who replaced Don Fehr as executive director in 2023.
“When you think about collective bargaining, it never really stops. It’s always constantly, always going,” Walsh said. “But we haven’t done into any major conversations with anyone yet. We’re still processing it. It’s still a bit early.”
Walsh acknowledges that the NHL is coming off a blockbuster season in terms of attendance, TV viewership, revenues and a Stanley Cup Final that went seven games. Prior to and early on in the 2024-25 season, Walsh and his team will tour all 32 franchises to get player opinions on what they want out of the next CBA.
“We’ll be talking to players about the agreement coming down the road and how we lay down the foundation for that agreement,” he said.
If recently signed contracts are any indication, players and agents have the next CBA talks on their minds. TSN noted recently that the multiyear contracts with term extending into the 2026-27 regular season have a sharp rise in signing bonus activity at the moment the CBA expires.
Walsh said he’s not concerned by that trend.
“No, not at all. That’s the beauty about this is: It’s certainly not my first collective bargain agreement,” he said. “I’ve done many of them, whether I’ve been involved myself from the beginning to the end, or I’ve been asked to come in and help resolve issues. So there’ll be a process.”
