As the world grieves the deaths of brothers Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, a GoFundMe account is generating much goodwill for Matthew's wife, Madeline.
The hockey community can be proud of many things, but chief among them is its admirable response to tragedies. We can’t replace people we’ve lost before their time – on Thursday, that was Columbus Blue Jackets star winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, both killed by an allegedly impaired driver – but we can extend our graces to everyone impacted by such terrible news. And that’s exactly what’s happening with a newly-created GoFundMe account to support Matthew Gaudreau’s wife and their baby that she’s currently pregnant with.
People from all over the hockey world – and beyond – are doing what they can to assist Madeline Gaudreau and her child, already raising more than $350,000 in donations through the GoFundMe service. And that’s a heartwarming thing to see.
Johnny Gaudreau had the good fortune to make millions in his NHL career, but for Matthew Gaudreau, he was a foot-solider in the hockey world, eking out a decent living, but certainly not getting exceedingly wealthy during his career. Madeline Gaudreau’s emotional suffering can’t be fixed with money, but it’s a measure of the size of the hearts of people touched by this story that the amount raised has skyrocketed from its initial $30,000 fundraising target to $350,837 as of the last day of August.
This is what it means to be friends in hockey. You do what you can to help one another, no matter how famous or non-famous the person or people affected might be. You make things easier for victims and their families wherever you can. You do the right thing.
The $350,837 raised for Madeline Gaudreau is just the latest total, and we’re sure it’s going to rise significantly as the weight of the loss ripples through the hockey world. In many different ways, we want to show we care about each other. Life can certainly be unfair to us, but it’s the spirit we respond with that ultimately helps define us at our best. Thank you, hockey community, for reaching out to the Gaudreau family and letting them know how deeply their beloved set of brothers affected everyone around them.
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau will be missed. And for the ones who have to move on without them, we give them their space and as much comfort as they can have in the face of unspeakable loss. The hockey world remembers the Gaudreaus fondly, and its charity at a time like this is a credit to all members of the community.