Flames forward Blake Coleman: ‘It’s just kind of surreal. It still kind of feels like he’s going to be there tomorrow’
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COLUMBUS — When the Calgary Flames emerge from the visiting locker room Friday at Nationwide Arena, they’ll look to their left, glance toward the roof and be reminded of a superstar pal gone far too soon.
Johnny Gaudreau’s No. 13 now hangs from the rafters in Columbus, a commemorative banner displayed almost directly above the cannon that used to scare him silly as one of the out-of-town guests. You might remember that viral video from his days with the Flames.
“It’s just kind of surreal. It still kind of feels like he’s going to be there tomorrow when you go in there,” said Blake Coleman, one of a handful of roster holdovers from Gaudreau’s time in Calgary, in an interview with Postmedia on U.S. Thanksgiving. “There’s going to be a little bit of a heavy presence, just knowing he’s not there. But I think you have to look at in a way that he’ll be looking down and watching the game.”
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This Black Friday matinee in Columbus (1 p.m. MT, Sportsnet One/Sportsnet 960 The Fan) marks the first meeting between the Flames and Blue Jackets since the tragic passing of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, the two brothers struck and killed on Aug. 29 by an alleged drunk driver as they rode bicycles on the eve of their sister’s wedding.
These two teams, these two fanbases, have been united by heartbreak.
Johnny spent nine campaigns with the Flames, then two in Columbus, totalling 743 points in his 763 games in the NHL spotlight.
At 31, he was still in the prime of his career, with two young kids and another on the way. Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Johnny’s wife and children.
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There will surely be an incredible show of support in Calgary on Tuesday as all of the Gaudreaus — Guy, Jane, Kristen, Katie, Meredith, etc. — are planning to attend the rematch between the Flames and Blue Jackets at the Saddledome.
“When we first got the news, I talked to (Craig) Conroy and you could just sense that the two franchises have something very, very important in common here, and that’s the Gaudreau family,” said Calgary-raised John Davidson, the former president of hockey operations in Columbus and now senior adviser and alternate governor for the Blue Jackets. “It’s a tragedy that is going to take a long time to try to make right in your own hearts. But it’s special that the two cities, the two teams and hockey in general has really reacted strongly to this.”
Agreed Flames franchise legend Lanny McDonald: “Sadly, when something like that happens, it brings people together in a different way. I just thought both cities could not have represented themselves any better.”
Indeed, in mourning the Gaudreaus, Calgary and Columbus shone as positive reflections of the hockey world, as proof of Johnny’s immense impact.
There were massive memorials outside both Nationwide Arena and the Saddledome, the images shared far and wide. There were heartfelt messages left on pucks and posters and in sidewalk chalk.
On the same night that he delivered an emotional address at a candlelight vigil attended by thousands of Flames fans, Conroy headed home and watched an online replay of a similar service in Columbus.
Dean Evason, who’d just been hired a few weeks earlier as the Blue Jackets head coach, was receiving photos from his daughter of the touching tributes in Calgary.
“I get goosebumps talking about it,” Evason said Thursday. “And the same here … Just the flowers and the magnitude of support was incredible. The vigil was incredible here. And then we all saw everything that went on in Calgary and the love for him and obviously Matthew, as well. It was amazing.”
You can still feel that love around Nationwide Arena.
There’s a memorial on the concourse. And yes, it includes Skittles and purple Gatorade.
Johnny still has a stall in the Blue Jackets’ locker room. His close friend and longtime Flames linemate, Sean Monahan, sits one spot over.
And there’s the No. 13 in the rafters, forever on showcase.
“You just felt like you didn’t want it to be true,” said Conroy, the Flames’ general manager, reflecting on what was a heartbreaking stretch of summer. “That was the big thing. It was just, ‘How? It doesn’t seem fair.’ And it still feels that way. It feels like you’re still going to see Johnny on the ice, doing Johnny things.
“So for the guys (Friday), to see his number in the rafters and to see Mony, that’s definitely going to be tough.”
Absolutely.
But Coleman, when he heads out toward the ice surface at Nationwide Arena, will likely look up and to his left, where that banner hangs. It reads: ‘Johnny Gaudreau, 1993-2024’ above his number.
“That’s kind of my approach to life in general is to not miss a moment, always take in what you can,” Coleman explained. “And then you just try to play a good hockey game and try to get a win.”
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