An emotional video tribute to Johnny Gaudreau and 13 seconds of silence, for his uniform number, opened the Columbus Blue Jackets' first game at Nationwide Arena since the star player's death nearly a month ago.
The tributes came just prior to the Blue Jackets' 3-0 pre-season victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.
Gaudreau and brother Matthew were killed Aug. 29 near their boyhood home in New Jersey when police said they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while they were riding bicycles on the eve of sister Katie's wedding.
The driver who police say struck them is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.
Starting with pre-season games, the Blue Jackets are wearing helmet stickers with "Gaudreau" printed between the images of two doves and the uniform numbers of the brothers, No. 13 for Johnny, No. 21 for Matthew, the number he wore as a player for Boston College.
"I think you put yourself in some of these situations where you'd have John around," Columbus forward Sean Kuraly said. "Thinking about him all day, obviously. Drive to the rink and a lot of times I'd pick him up on the way. So he's not there for that. I spent a lot of the day thinking about John. When he's not there with us, it's a tough day."
Columbus players will wear a commemorative patch beginning with the first regular-season game with Johnny Gaudreau's No. 13.
Traditional activities for the home opener Oct. 15 will be postponed so the night can be dedicated to paying tribute to the Gaudreau brothers. The home opener will be celebrated two nights later instead.
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