It is difficult to grasp, from the outside, what Johnny Gaudreau meant to fans of the Columbus Blue Jackets, even in the two short seasons he spent there before he and his brother Matthew were struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver on Aug. 29. Columbus fans are used to their stars leaving: for more money, bigger cities, more competitive franchises. If Gaudreau shocked the rest of the world when he signed with the Blue Jackets, he didn't shock Columbusites—he merely became one of them. He embraced them, and they embraced him in return. He wanted to be there. He always will be, in memory, because memory lasts longer than a life.
Tuesday marked the home opener for the Blue Jackets, and the night belonged to Gaudreau. The team revealed a memorial to Gaudreau on the concourse, featuring his used equipment and signs left by fans after his death, which will be there all season. All players on the Blue Jackets and the visiting Panthers wore his No. 13 in warmups. A video package was played on the jumbotron honoring his life. His wife Meredith and their two young kids were invited onto the ice as Gaudreau's banner was raised to the rafters.
And then it was time for hockey. In a video message, Meredith Gaudreau urged fans not to be saddened by his death—good luck—but rather to try to be inspired by her late husband's life. "When it's time to drop the puck, let's love the game John loved," she said.
The Blue Jackets took the opening faceoff without a left winger on the ice, and stayed in that missing-man formation for 13 seconds as the crowd cheered and chanted "Johnny Hockey."
Sean Monahan, one of Gaudreau's best friends dating back to their time together in Calgary, gave the Blue Jackets a lead in the second period and immediately pointed toward Gaudreau's banner.
Florida would win this one 4-3—the Blue Jackets remain the Blue Jackets, for all that entails—but the game was secondary to the catharsis. Tears are shed but after that lives must be lived, and the franchise and the sport must roll on, both worse for having lost Gaudreau but ultimately better for having had him at all.
