Montreal Canadiens star forward Cole Caufield will hit the ice this season with a new number to pay tribute to one of his hockey heroes, Johnny Gaudreau.
Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed by an alleged drunk driver last week in New Jersey. The tragedy sent Shockwaves not just through the hockey world, but through all of sports.
Tons of tributes have been pouring in for the Gaudreau brothers and now Caufield has announced that when the puck drops on the 2024-25 NHL season he’s swapping his old No. 22 for Gaudreau’s No. 13.
Caufield paid his respects to Gaudreau and announced the change in an Instagram post.
Caufield expressed his condolences to the Gaudreau family and talked about his experiences playing with Gaudrea on Team USA at the IIHF World Championship earlier this year.
“Getting to play with your hero is something that most people only dream of,” Caufield said. “I was lucky enough to be Johnny’s teammate this past summer and it didn’t take long to realize how great of a person he was.
He was the most welcoming, genuine, and funniest guy I have ever met. He was someone everyone gravitated towards and I took every chance I could to be around him.
Not only was he an amazing hockey player and teammate, but he was down to earth and truly cared about every person he encountered.”
Caufield — who stands at 5’7″ — talked about how seeing another undersized player like Gaudreau succeeding at the level he did in the NHL was an inspiration and led the former Wisconsin Badger to wear No. 13 earlier in his career as a tip of the cap to Gaudreau, something he will now be doing again.
“I wore #13 at a point in my career because of Johnny and now I will be wearing it again to honor him. He paved the way for smaller players and proved we had a future in this game at the highest level. I will forever be grateful to him for inspiring me and others.
“Rest in Peace, Johnny Hockey.”
What an incredible gesture from Cole Caufield. I think this decision and his words about show just how much Johnny Gaudreau meant to — and what an impact he had on — a lot of players and fans across the hockey community.
