Johnny Gaudreau
John Michael Gaudreau was an American professional ice hockey player. A winger, he played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League. He played college ice hockey for the Boston College Eagles in NCAA Division I for three seasons beginning in 2011 and was selected in the fourth round, 104th overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 2011 NHL entry draft. Nicknamed "Johnny Hockey", he was named the 2014 recipient of the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in the NCAA and, during his first full NHL season in 2014–15, was selected to play in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, as well as being named to the annual NHL All-Rookie team. Gaudreau was a Calder Memorial Trophy finalist for the NHL's best rookie and won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player for the 2016–17 season. In 2022, Gaudreau signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he spent his last two seasons. Gaudreau was noted as helping to grow opportunities for smaller hockey players; despite measuring in at, he was a seven-time NHL All-Star and finished fourth in Hart Memorial Trophy voting twice.
Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a drunk driver while cycling on August 29, 2024, in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.
Early life
Gaudreau was born on August 13, 1993, in Salem, New Jersey, to Guy Gaudreau, a former soccer player and college hockey player and high school coach from Beebe Plain, Vermont, and Jane Gaudreau. He had two sisters and a younger brother, Matthew, who played hockey for the Worcester Railers and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the ECHL and AHL, respectively.Gaudreau grew up in Carneys Point Township, New Jersey. As a child, he played little league baseball in the Penns Grove Little League, where he was teammates with future Boston Red Sox pitcher Mike Shawaryn, and participated in the 2006 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Hershey, Pennsylvania. He initially attended Gloucester Catholic High School in Gloucester City, New Jersey, but later graduated from Dubuque Senior High School in Dubuque, Iowa while playing for the Dubuque Fighting Saints.
Playing career
USHL (2010–2011)
Gaudreau played the 2010–11 season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League, where he played in the 2011 USHL All-Star Game and helped his team win the Clark Cup as the USHL champions. He ultimately finished second in the league in goals, with 36, and fourth in points, with 72. Gaudreau's outstanding play was rewarded with selections to the USHL All-Rookie Team and the All-USHL Second Team, as well as the USHL Rookie of the Year award.Gaudreau was selected in the 4th round, 104th overall, in the 2011 NHL entry draft by the Calgary Flames. Listed at and, Gaudreau was the lightest player selected at the draft, and tied with Rocco Grimaldi for the shortest player selected.
NCAA (2011–2014)
After attending the Calgary Flames training camp ahead of the 2011–12 season, Gaudreau started his career in the NCAA with the Division I Boston College Eagles team in the Hockey East conference. He originally signed a letter of intent to play with Hockey East rival Northeastern University, but opted for Boston College when Northeastern hockey head coach Greg Cronin resigned in June 2011 to take a position with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs.As a freshman at Boston College, Gaudreau scored 21 goals and 23 assists in 44 games, leading all first-year students in scoring. He played an integral part in Boston College's win in the team's national championship, scoring a goal late in the third period in their 4–1 win in the final over Ferris State University. Gaudreau was awarded the Bill Flynn Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Hockey East Championship Tournament. He also helped the Eagles win the traditional Beanpot Tournament for the third year in a row and was named Beanpot MVP after the tournament.
In his sophomore campaign, Gaudreau emerged as the team's star and improved upon his statistics, achieving a 21–30–51 scoring line in 35 games, and leading the nation in points per game at 1.46. He then led the Eagles to a fourth consecutive Beanpot championship after helping to win a gold medal for the United States at the 2013 World Juniors. Despite Boston College's defeat by archrival Boston University in the Hockey East tournament semi-finals and loss to Union College in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Gaudreau was named Hockey East Player of the Year, as well as an American Collegiate Hockey Association First Team All-American. On April 3, 2013, Gaudreau was named one of the three finalists for the 2013 Hobey Baker Award, awarded to the NCAA's top men's ice hockey player, along with Eric Hartzell and Drew LeBlanc. St. Cloud State's Drew LeBlanc eventually won the award.
Gaudreau remained at Boston College for his junior year despite rumors of him turning professional and joining the Calgary Flames. According to Gaudreau, one of the main reasons he stayed was to play with his younger brother Matthew, who joined Boston College's team in the fall. Gaudreau subsequently led the NCAA in every major scoring category, scoring 36 goals and 44 assists for 80 points in 40 games, a 2.00 point per game pace, the highest production by any player in the country since 2003. After a 5–4 Eagles loss to Holy Cross in November, Gaudreau was placed on a line with Bill Arnold and Kevin Hayes, which quickly became collegiate hockey's most offensively-potent line, producing 46 goals and 68 assists for 114 points as a trio. In addition, Gaudreau tied Paul Kariya's record for the Hockey East single-season scoring streak at 31 games, scoring 29 goals and 61 points during the span. For his season, he was named the league's Player of the Year for the second straight season, as well as the league's scoring champion with 36 points in 20 games, and was named a unanimous First-Team All-Star. He was also named a Hobey Baker top ten finalist on March 20, and a top three "Hobey Hat Trick" finalist for the second-straight year on April 2. Although the Eagles lost to Union College in the Frozen Four on April 11, Gaudreau was named the 2014 recipient of the Hobey Baker Award.
Professional
Calgary Flames (2014–2022)
Gaudreau entered the NHL on the day he received the Hobey Baker Award. On April 11, 2014, shortly after the ceremony, Gaudreau and Eagles teammate Bill Arnold signed entry-level contracts with the Calgary Flames, Arnold having been drafted by Calgary in 2010. Both made their NHL debut in the Flames' final game of the 2013–14 season against the Vancouver Canucks. Gaudreau scored the Flames' only goal on his first shot of his first professional game.To begin the 2014–15 season, Gaudreau earned a spot on the Flames' roster to continue his NHL career. Starting off slowly, Gaudreau did not record a point until the year's sixth game. However, he heated up quickly, amassing 12 goals and 30 points through 37 games. He scored his first career NHL hat-trick against Jonathan Quick on December 22, 2014, in a 4–3 comeback win over the Los Angeles Kings, becoming the youngest Flames player to record a hat-trick since Joe Nieuwendyk in the 1987–88 season. Gaudreau was selected to play in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio, on January 25, 2015, and participated in the Skills Competition, garnering attention with Jakub Voráček for their antics during the shootout challenge. The shootout move, which imitated the previous move performed by Ryan Johansen went viral. Voráček, who went immediately after Johansen, "helped" Gaudreau score a goal in the same manner as Johansen did with Vogt, making fun of Gaudreau's size and youth, as his small stature in comparison to other NHLers led some to believe that he looked like a child.
Gaudreau was originally named to the All-Star Skills Competition Rookie Team, limited to only the competition portion, but was promoted to the All-Star Game itself as a replacement to Pittsburgh Penguins forward and captain Sidney Crosby, who could not play due to injury. Gaudreau was named to Team Toews and recorded two assists in the game, both on goals scored by the Nashville Predators' Filip Forsberg. On March 11, 2015, Gaudreau scored his 50th point of the season, becoming the first Flames rookie to reach the mark since Jarome Iginla in 1996–97. Gaudreau finished the season tied for the rookie scoring lead with Mark Stone of the Ottawa Senators. Gaudreau had 24 goals and led all rookies with 40 assists, while Stone had 26 goals. He was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best rookie, but the award went to Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, with Gaudreau finishing third. He was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team for the 2014–15 season.
The 2015–16 season was a breakout year for Gaudreau, as the sophomore set career highs in goals, assists, and points en route to finishing tied for sixth among all NHL players in total points. For the second straight year, Gaudreau participated in the NHL All-Star Game, the 61st in NHL history. Gaudreau was selected as a finalist to be the All-Star Game MVP, an honor eventually given to unlikely write-in candidate enforcer John Scott. However, the Flames failed to live up to high expectations following their surprisingly successful 2014–15 season, finishing 26th in the NHL and missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons.
Gaudreau missed the entirety of the Flames' 2016 training camp due to a contract dispute. On October 10, 2016, two days before the Flames' season opener, Gaudreau signed a six-year, $40.5 million contract worth $6.75 million annually. On November 16, 2016, in a game against the Minnesota Wild, Gaudreau suffered a finger fracture. He had surgery the following day. Despite speculation he would miss up to six weeks of the season, Gaudreau returned after ten games. Gaudreau finished the season with 18 goals and 43 assists for 61 points in 72 games, leading the Flames in scoring. However, in the 2017 playoffs, the Flames would lose in a four-game sweep to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round, with Gaudreau unable to score a goal and record only two assists for two points in all four of the games played.
Gaudreau set a career high in points scored during the 2017–18 season, leading the Flames with 84 points. He was named an NHL All-Star for the fourth consecutive year, but would not participate in the playoffs as the Flames came up short of a late-season push for the last wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The 2018–19 season was Gaudreau's best regular season. He finished with a career-best 99 points, including career highs in goals, assists, and points. He was tied for seventh place in league scoring. The Flames won the Pacific Division and were the Western Conference's top seed heading into the 2019 playoffs. Gaudreau finished fourth in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association to the league's most valuable player. However, in the first round of the 2019 playoffs, the Flames lost to the eighth-seeded Colorado Avalanche in five games. Gaudreau managed only one point, an assist, in all five contests, which was singled out as a key weakness for the Flames postseason upset.
Following his success in 2018–19, Gaudreau had a disappointing 2019–20 season, hitting career lows of only 18 goals and 40 assists for 58 points in 70 games. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the regular season being prematurely halted in March. The NHL eventually arranged to hold the 2020 playoffs in a bubble in Edmonton and Toronto. The Flames had been eighth in the Western Conference when the regular season was suspended, and so played the ninth-place Winnipeg Jets in a special qualifying round. In game one of the series, Gaudreau scored his first playoff goal since 2015, helping the Flames win the game 4–1. After ousting the Jets 3–1 in the qualifying round, the Flames faced the Dallas Stars in the first round. Gaudreau again struggled to produce in the playoffs, and the Flames lost the series four games to two.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL realigned its divisions temporarily for a shortened 2020–21 season. To eliminate cross-border travel, all seven Canadian teams played in the North Division. The year began slowly for Gaudreau, and further difficulties arose when coach Geoff Ward was replaced midway through the season by Darryl Sutter. Adjusting to Sutter's style was challenging, and Gaudreau posted only seven points in a span of fifteen games following the switch. However, his scoring improved dramatically during the final months of the regular season, alongside general improvement of the team. He recorded his 300th career assist on a goal by teammate Sam Bennett in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. Gaudreau again lead the Flames in goals and assists during the season. The Flames did not qualify for the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, coming four points short of the Montreal Canadiens for the final berth in the North Division.
The NHL's divisions and format returned to their pre-pandemic norms for the 2021–22 season, the Flames' first full season under returning coach Sutter. It would be one of the most successful regular seasons in team history, with Gaudreau at the center of its success. With centreman Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk on the right wing, he formed one of the most dominant forward lines in the NHL, and all three members hit numerous personal and collective milestones throughout the season. On April 12, he hit the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. Gaudreau scored his 40th goal of the season in an April 29 loss to the Minnesota Wild, joining Lindholm and Tkachuk in this feat, the first time in 28 years that linemates had all achieved this, and only the fourth time in that span that a team had three 40-goal scorers. He finished the season playing in all 82 contests with 40 goals and 75 assists for 115 points, finishing second overall in points standings for the Art Ross Trophy, behind only Edmonton Oilers forward and captain Connor McDavid. This was also the second-most points ever for a Flame, behind only Kent Nilsson in 1980–81. Gaudreau's performance through the season led many to argue that he should be a serious candidate for the Hart Memorial Trophy, though he was ultimately not a finalist, finishing fourth in the voting. The Flames won the Pacific Division and finished sixth in the league. The Flames drew the Dallas Stars in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, a rematch of the bubble playoffs two years prior, and a matchup in which the Flames were considered the favourites. In light of disappointing results in preceding years, Gaudreau's prospective performance was the subject of considerable speculation. The Stars proved a greater challenge than many had anticipated, largely due to an exceptional performance from goaltender Jake Oettinger. After falling behind two games to one, Gaudreau scored the game-winning goal to help tie the series in game four, his first of the playoffs. His performance through the early games earned the praise of coach Sutter, who said he felt that Gaudreau had "taken that step" to perform as well in the playoffs as he had during the regular season. Gaudreau's second goal of the playoffs was also a game-winner, this time in overtime in game seven, sending the Flames through to the second round for the first time in seven years. The Flames drew the Edmonton Oilers in the second round, the first playoff "Battle of Alberta" in 31 years. The Flames were defeated by the Oilers in five games, bringing their playoff run to an end.
With the pending expiration of Gaudreau's contract, many regarded him as the top unrestricted free agent of 2022, and whether the Flames could re-sign him was a topic of considerable discussion. On July 12, 2022, the Flames announced that Gaudreau would not return to Calgary despite an aggressive internal campaign by the club to re-sign him, including a monetary package that would have made Gaudreau one of the highest paid players in the league. General Manager Brad Treliving described Gaudreau's decision as a "disappointing day, to say the very least," but noted Gaudreau's desire to move closer to his family, saying "I respect that fully. John has every right, and we have nothing but respect for John the player and John the person."