Colorado Avalanche issue statement after Gaudreau brothers tragedy

Tragedy struck the NHL last night (officially confirmed in the early hours of Friday), when rumours started to circulate regarding Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew being the victims in a deadly accident.

Specifically, it appears that a drunk driver hit the two brothers while they were riding their “pedalcycles, as this ESPN article phrased it.

Johnny Gaudreau was just 31-years-old, while Matthew was just 29. The whole entire NHL is coming together during this awful time, as I have seen several teams put out statements since the news broke, and some are still to come. The Colorado Avalanche were one of the teams who have put a statement out.

Johnny Gaudreau faced the Avalanche an amazing 25 times in his career—21 times as a member of the Calgary Flames, and four times as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had eight goals and 12 assists in all of those games combined.

A friendly, but very serious, reminder…

Drunk driving is and has been a serious problem since forever.

In this Forbes article from early-January, it details many statistics regarding drunk driving. I highly encourage everybody to check it out. You yourself may know someone who was a victim of this situation. The fact of the matter is that it happens far too often. There is never an excuse.

Plans should be arranged prior to even stepping foot into a bar. Calling a taxi/Uber or having a friend or family member drive and pick you up are two ways you can prevent drunk driving.

My heart goes out to the Gaudreau family during this very difficult time. It also goes out to any person who comes across this article who has experienced loss from drunk driving. If you are struggling with loss, please know you are not alone, and seek some help because there are absolutely people who can and will help you get through the pain.

I just wanted to come on here and send along my condolences.