The netizens and fans are devastated by the news of American hockey star Johnny Gaudreau’s death in a car accident and condolences are pouring in from the sports fraternity on social media.
Johnny Gaudreau also known as Johnny Hockey who played for the Columbus Blue Jackets was killed in an accident alongside his brother Matthew after they were hit by a car while riding their bicycles near their family home in New Jersey.
The accident happened at 08.30 p.m. on Thursday on Pennsville Auburn Road near Stumpy Lane in Oldmans Township in Salem County, New Jersey.
Steve Franklin, whose X bio is, captioned ‘says what the common man is afraid to say’ and also fancies himself as a journalist and CEO of Sports Thinkers stated that the news has been confirmed to him by a brother who is a cop.
He wrote,
“My brother (police officer in Salem County, NJ) has confirmed with me that NHL Player Johnny Gaudreau has passed away in a car accident. Rest in peace, Johnny Gaudreau. Columbus Blue Jackets legend,”
However, it needs to be pointed out Franklin in the past has been involved in a number of false scares and often gotten his stories embarrassingly wrong.
One such false scare was the story involving Amari Cooper which turned out false.
This time however his story is tragically true and Johnny Gaudreau has passed away.
Johnny Gaudreau and His Brother Killed in Accident, Confirmed
In the beginning, the details were sketchy and nothing was conclusively proven and the story led to intense discussions on X and other social media platforms as people raced to find out the truth.
However, lately, several people associated with the hockey fraternity have confirmed the news including former NHL referee Tim Peel, who wrote on X after a query from a user about the rumour of Gaudreau’s alleged death,
“Morgan, unfortunately this is true. Jonny and his brother were killed by a drunk driver tonight,”
Despite repeated questioning about his source of information, Peel did not reveal it but stated that some Calgary Flames reporters (Johnny’s former team) confirmed the news to him.
Hours later fans’ worst fears were confirmed when New Jersey State Police in a statement confirmed that Columbus Blue Jackets star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, lost their lives on Thursday night when they were struck by a car driven by a suspected drunk driver while bicycling in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, close to their hometown in Salem County.
Columbus Blue Jackets also confirmed the demise of Johnny Gaudreau on social media. It stated that the team was shocked and devastated by the unimaginable tragedy.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31 had signed up with Blue Jackets’ in July 2022 as an unrestricted free agent from the Calgary Flames and played as the top forward. In a tragic twist to the tale Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew were to be the groomsmen in their sister Katie’s wedding Friday in Philadelphia.
Johnny Gaudreau is survived by his wife Meredith, and two young children, a daughter, Noa, and son, Johnny. His brother is survived by his wife, Madeline. The untimely death of the brothers has devastated their parents, Jane and Gus Gaudreau, and their sisters Kristen and Katie.
