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Blue Jackets to Honor Johnny Gaudreau During Home Opener

The Columbus Blue Jackets are set to honor Johnny Gaudreau at their home opener.

Jacob Punturi

Oct 10, 2024; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; A patch honoring the life Johnny Gaudreau is seen on the jersey worn by Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Yegor Chinakhov (59) during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Oct 10, 2024; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; A patch honoring the life Johnny Gaudreau is seen on the jersey worn by Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Yegor Chinakhov (59) during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
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This season's home opener for the Columbus Blue Jackets will be unlike any other in franchise history. After the tragic death of team icon Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, the team is pushing through what will be an emotional season in memory of their fallen teammate.

Before the puck drops on the Blue Jackets hosting the Florida Panthers, the team will honor the Gaudreau brothers in a pre-game ceremony. The Gaudreau family will be on-hand for the proceedings, and the team is Johnny's number 13 being frozen into the ice behind each net.

The Blue Jackets' players also showed off some gear they had made in honor of their teammate. Team writer and The Athletic's Aaron Portzline shared a photo from the team's locker room showing off the "Johnny Hockey" shirts players were wearing.

Teammate and friend Sean Monahan joined the Blue Jackets largely to play with Gaudreau. The two were a dynamic duo during their time together with the Calgary Flames, and they were looking to rekindle that production this season. Monahan knows that his friend would relish a home opener like today, and said it's important to harness those emotions and put it towards their game.

“When we step on the ice, I’m going to step on the ice and play for John," he said. "If he was here, he’d be real excited for a day like this.”

The Blue Jackets are playing solid hockey early in the season. They are just two games in, but their young players like Cole Sillinger, Adam Fantilli, and Kent Johnson, look improved from last season already. The presence of a veteran like Monahan appears to be a stabilizing force for their forward group. The Panthers are a different type of test, and in an already emotional home opener, the defending champions will challenge the Blue Jackets after the ceremony has come to an end.

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Jacob Punturi
JACOB PUNTURI

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