'Such a great loss': Brothers mourned by ice hockey community amid wife's heartbreaking reveal

John and Matthew Gaudreau were remembered as loving brothers and husbands who put family above hockey and everything else at a tearful funeral, a week and a half after they died when they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey.

Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. John was 31 and Matthew 29.

“Everything was always John and Matty,” said Meredith Gaudreau, John's wife, who revealed she was pregnant with the couple's third child.

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“I know John would not be able to live a day without his brother. He loved him so much.”

Buses brought players and others to St Mary Magdalen Catholic Church and a crowd of hundreds walked in for the service, including several children wearing Gaudreau No.13 jerseys worn by the NHL player known to fans as “Johnny Hockey.”

Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Patrik Laine, Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and longtime executive Brian Burke were among those in attendance.

“It just shows the true honour and respect that everybody gave them. Just can’t imagine what they’re going through," Caufield, who will wear No.13 in honour of John Gaudreau, said outside the church before the funeral. "Just the amount of people that are here today and yesterday, just anything we can do to help.”

Meredith Gaudreau singled out two of John's closest friends, Sean Monahan and Kevin Hayes, in a eulogy that lasted more than 30 minutes.

“You’ve both known John longer than I have, which means you helped shape him into the man I fell in love with," she said.

"He looked up to you both on and off the ice. You are his brothers, which means you’re my brothers, too. Thank you for being there with me when you’re experiencing such a great loss, as well.”

John, an All-Star for the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets, and Matthew, who played NCAA hockey alongside his brother at Boston College a decade ago, died on the eve of their sister’s wedding.

The Reverend Tony Penna, the director of campus ministry at BC, asked those inside the church to look around at how many people made the trip to the Philadelphia suburbs to pay their respects, calling it a source of comfort for parents Guy and Jane.

“By the overwhelming presence and overwhelming number of people here today, they’re sending a message to you loud and clear that John and Matthew’s lives mattered, that they were noticed on this earth, they were loved on this earth and they were valued on this earth,” Penna said. "This robust crowd wants you to know that they’re here to tell you, all of you, that they love you, too, and they have your back and they’re here to support you in our loss.”

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, according to New Jersey State Police. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

“I urge everyone to never drink and drive," said Madeline Gaudreau, Matthew’s wife. “Call a ride. Please do not put another family through this torture. The loss of Matty and John will leave a hole in the family, with his close friends, the community for eternity.”

A GoFundMe to support Madeline Gaudreau, who is pregnant with the couple's first child, has surpassed $968,000, with donations from nearly 9000 people pouring in, many from NHL players and their families.

The funeral Mass was full of emotion, with the brothers' caskets sitting side by side in the church, much like their twin-sized beds in their childhood home in Carneys Point, New Jersey. While sharing memories of their husbands, their widows repeatedly mentioned John and Matthew's inseparable bond.

“John took care of Matty, and Matty would take care of John,” Madeline Gaudreau said. "Meredith said it best: You do not hear one name without the other. They were so extremely proud of each other.”

Meredith Gaudreau's father, Ed Morris, speaking on behalf of the family, said the only goal moving forward is to attempt to replicate how the Gaudreau brothers lived.

“John and Matty will be so happy if the world learned about how they lived their life and we all improved our lives as a result,” Morris said afterward. "That’s the greatest gift we can give John, Matt and the Gaudreaus, who are in deep pain.”

John and Matthew Gaudreau have been mourned across the sports world, including in Columbus, Ohio, where the older Gaudreau signed in 2022 as a free agent with the small-market Blue Jackets over more lucrative free-agent offers from other teams.

“He did it to be closer to his family, plain and simple," Meredith Gaudreau said. "He wanted his parents and his siblings to be able to see more games and spend more time with us and our baby on the way.”

Fans and Blue Jackets players gathered last week for an emotional candlelight vigil, and a similar gathering was held in Calgary, where John Gaudreau played his first eight professional seasons with the Flames.

The brothers' lives have been celebrated on social media since their deaths. Katie Gaudreau, the little sister who was supposed to get married the day after the brothers were killed, posted pictures of her family in happier times.

"God really did draft the best two boys," Madeline Gaudreau said. "Linemates forever.”