Columbus Blue Jackets’ Johnny Gaudreau and brother killed when bicycles hit by car

NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother were killed Thursday night when they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey, police said Friday.

Gaudreau, 31, and brother, Matt, 29, are Carneys Point, New Jersey, natives and were scheduled to be groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding that was scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.

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New Jersey state police said the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving an SUV in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind about 8pm, less than a half-hour after sunset. They were pronounced dead on the scene.

Police said the driver, 43-year-old Sean M Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was jailed at the Salem County Correctional Facility.

According to the criminal complaint obtained by the Associated Press, Higgins told a responding officer he had five or six beers prior to the crash and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving. He failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said, though his blood-alcohol level was not immediately available.

“Johnny played the game with great joy which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice,” the statement read. “He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played from Boston College to the Calgary Flames to Team USA to the Blue Jackets. He thrilled fans in a way only Johnny Hockey could. The impact he had on our organization and our sport was profound, but pales in comparison to the indelible impression he made on everyone who knew him.”

Johnny Gaudreau, known as ‘Johnny Hockey’, played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68.25m deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.

Gaudreau, at 5ft 9in and 180lbs, was part of a generation of hockey players who thrived in an era of speed and skill that made being undersized less of a disadvantage. He scored 20-plus goals six times and was a 115-point player in 2021-22 as a first-time NHL All-Star when he had a career-best 40 goals and 75 assists.

A fourth-round pick of Calgary’s in 2011, Gaudreau helped Boston College win the NCAA championship in 2012 and in 2014 took home the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the country.

As a professional, Gaudreau finished was part of the NHL all-rookie team during his first season in the league and was third in voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2014-15.

Gaudreau was a point-a-game player with 642 points in 644 regular-season and playoff games since breaking into the league. He most recently signed a seven-year contract in 2022 worth nearly $69m that put him and his young family in central Ohio, closer to his family in New Jersey.

He holds the men’s world championship records by a US player with 30 assists and 43 points, earlier this year breaking marks previously held by Patrick Kane.

Gaudreau’s death is the latest off-ice tragedy to strike the organization in the past few years. Goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died in July 2021 when he was struck in the chest by a firework while attending the wedding of then-Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace’s daughter in Michigan.

“The National Hockey League family is shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement . “While Johnny’s infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname ‘Johnny Hockey,’ he was more than just a dazzling hockey player; he was a doting father and beloved husband, son, brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have crossed his path.”