NHL players to honor Gaudreau brothers with helmet decals

Sept. 30 (UPI) -- NHL players will honor the Gaudreau brothers, who were killed last month while riding their bikes, by wearing special helmet decals to start the 2024-25 regular season, the league announced Monday.

The decals feature the letter G at the center, flanked by No. 13 on the left for Johnny Gaudreau and No. 21 on the right for Matthew Gaudreau.

Johnny Gaudreau, a winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Matthew Gaudreau, a former minor-league player, were killed Aug. 29 when they were hit by a car in Salem County, N.J.

The had been bicycling home to attend their sister's wedding. Both were to be groomsmen.

The driver of the car that hit them, 43-year-old Sean Higgins, was charged with two counts of death by auto, reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.

Players from the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres will be the first to wear the decals when they face off in the NHL's regular-season opener at 1 p.m. EDT Friday in Prague, Czech Republic.

NHL teams have honored the Gaudreau brothers with tribute videos before games this preseason. The Blue Jackets and Devils, two of Johnny's former teams, held candlelight vigils for the brothers.

The Sabres and Devils will play another game Saturday in Prague. The NHL season will start in North America on Oct. 8, with six teams in action.