Why the Gaudreau Brothers’ Deaths Were the Defining Tragedy of 2024

2024 was supposed to be a year of milestones for Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. 

Johnny was set to enter his third season with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and welcome his third child with his wife, Meredith Gaudreau. Matthew was getting set to move on from his coaching job with the North American Hockey League’s Philadelphia Rebels and welcome his first baby with his wife, Madeline Gaudreau. 

On the evening of August 29, that all ended in an instant.

The night before their sister Katie Gaudreau’s wedding, Johnny and Matthew were struck and killed while riding bicycles in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. Sean M. Higgins, the man who hit the brothers with his Jeep, was drunk at the time of the accident and remains in prison on multiple charges, including two counts of vehicular homicide. 

Johnny was 31 years old. Matthew was 29. 

The unspeakable tragedy sent ripples through the hockey community and the sports world at large. An emotionally cathartic memorial service was held for Johnny and Matthew, who were once teammates at Boston College University, on September 9 at St. Mary Magdalen Parish outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It was at their funeral 12 days later, which was attended by a large group of Johnny’s former Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames teammates, that Meredith announced she was pregnant. 

“We’re actually a family of five,” Meredith — who shared daughter Noa, now 2, and son Johnny, now 9 months — said during her eulogy. “I’m in my ninth week of pregnancy with our third baby. A total surprise, but again, John was beaming and so excited.”

Meredith added, “I was so nervous because this was, again, a total surprise. But his reaction was just immediately kissing me and hugging me even though I was driving the car. After the initial excitement sank in, every time he looked at me, he would say, ‘You’re nuts, you know that? Three kids?’”

During her eulogy, Madeline discussed the sobering, alternate reality that had been laid at the feet of herself and her soon-to-be-born baby boy, who will be named Tripp. 

“Matt will surround his son for the rest of his life.” She added, “I’m so thankful God gave us a child, a little Matty, to run around for life, to carry on his legacy. Tripp will know how much his father loved him, and I promise to do all the things with him we talked about.”

In the weeks and months that followed, the Gaudreau family and the hockey world made a concerted effort to keep the memories of Johnny and Matthew alive. 

Hollydell Ice Arena in Sewell, New Jersey, where Johnny and Matthew grew up playing hockey, paid tribute to the brothers in a ceremony on September 13, which was attended by their parents, Guy and Jane. 

More than a dozen Blue Jackets — plus their wives and girlfriends — attended Noa’s second birthday party on September 30. “We love you all,” Meredith wrote via Instagram alongside a picture from the party. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart 💙really special group that will forever be family to me and my babies.”

During the Blue Jackets’ first regular season home game since the tragedy, Johnny’s good friend Sean Monahan — who played with Johnny in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and signed with Columbus to play with his buddy again — scored and pointed to a banner honoring Johnny inside Nationwide Arena. 

Perhaps the most stirring tribute came on December 3, when the entire Gaudreau family returned to Calgary, where Johnny spent the first nine seasons of his NHL career. 

A pregame video honored Johnny’s legacy, the family took to the ice inside the Scotiabank Saddledome for a ceremonial puck drop, Guy showed up in the Flames locker room to greet many of his son’s former teammates — and Meredith even got a tattoo of Johnny’s signature, her first, to honor her late husband. 

While the depth of Johnny and Matthew’s deaths is almost unspeakable, there is some light at the end of this tunnel. 

After her brothers were killed hours before her wedding in August, Katie Gaudreau has set a new wedding date. Katie and her fiancé, Devin Joyce, are set to tie the knot on July 11, 2025 in Philadelphia.