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Blue Jackets and Red Wings Honor Johnny Gaudreau

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings honored Johnny Gaudreau ahead of their Stadium Series matchup.

Jon Alfano

Mar 1, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets Kirill Marchenko, left, Dmitri Voronkov, center, and Daniil Tarasov walk into the stadium before the NHL Stadium Series game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Samantha Madar/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
Mar 1, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets Kirill Marchenko, left, Dmitri Voronkov, center, and Daniil Tarasov walk into the stadium before the NHL Stadium Series game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Samantha Madar/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Samantha Madar/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
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The Columbus Blue Jackets have dedicated their entire season to honoring late star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew. So, ahead of arguably their biggest game of the season, they of course had to pull out all the stops.

Ahead of their Stadium Series game against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, the Blue Jackets arrived at Ohio Stadium wearing matching caps, hoodies and track pants, which captain Boone Jenner described as a "signature Johnny fit." Additionally, the Gaudreau family, including Johnny's wife Meredith, led team into the stadium.

"We wanted to do something to honor John," defenseman Zach Werenski told NHL.com. "We thought no better way than to dress like him."

"His style was definitely more unique, more laidback. He wore the same stuff all the time. I think that's what made him in a sense a special person, how laid back he was. Part of that was his style. We just thought it was a great idea to dress like him."

Meredith and the rest of the Gaudreau family have been part of many tributes to Johnny and Matthew this season, not just in Columbus, but across the hockey world. With the Blue Jackets set to play their first outdoor game in franchise history, it only felt right to have them involved.

A banner in honor of late Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau
Oct 15, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; A banner is raised in remberance of Johnny Gaudreau before the game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images / Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images

The Red Wings joined in on the festivities as well. Detroit players arrived at Ohio Stadium wearing various jerseys Gaudreau wore throughout his career, many of them wearing his Team USA jersey.

Team USA, which featured Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, played for Gaudreau throughout the 4 Nations Face-Off last month. In fact, the team had his No. 13 jersey hanging in the locker room throughout the tournament, and would give it out to the "player of the game" after each contest.

The Blue Jackets and Red Wings, who currently occupy the two Eastern Conference wild card spots at 66 points each, face off at 6:30 p.m. ET from Ohio Stadium.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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