Gaudreau remembered at NHL Alumni Association golf tournament

GOODWOOD, Ontario -- On a day when deceased legends of the game were honored at the NHL Alumni Association’s annual golf tournament, the late Johnny Gaudreau fittingly received the love he richly deserved from players of yesteryear on Monday.

As golfers approached each tee box at the pristine Coppinwood Golf Club, they were greeted by a poster of a former great who is no longer with us, ranging from Jean Beliveau to Borje Salming to Gordie Howe. All the while, the video screen on each golf cart played a brief clip that paid tribute to that particular player on that individual hole.

On hole No. 12, the man being remembered was Gaudreau, who was killed along with younger brother Matthew when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver while bicycling in New Jersey on Aug. 29, just one day before they were to attend their sister’s wedding. The then-Columbus Blue Jackets forward might be gone, but he certainly has not been forgotten, especially by the alumni.

“He was still an active player at the time, but he was still part of our fraternity and should be remembered as such,” NHLAA president and executive director Glenn Healy said, adding that some of the association’s medical consultants have been in touch with Johnny’s wife, Meredith, and the Gaudreau family.

“We’re here to help. If you need help and reach out, we’re there for you. Obviously what happened to Johnny was tragic and there is a lot of healing involved for those around him. Again, we’re here to help.”

Those efforts are very much appreciated by the former players, more than 50 of whom teed it up for the tournament, including Hockey Hall of Famers Bryan Trottier and Guy Carbonneau. The latter finished the day by winning a closest-to-the-pin contest on the 11th hole with the Hart Trophy (NHL MVP), Art Ross Trophy (NHL points leader) and Conn Smythe Trophy (MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs) among the hardware sitting on a table at the back of the green.

According to Healy, who took over the reins of the NHLAA in 2017, the alumni attending the tournament played nearly 30,000 combined NHL games, featured 18 Stanley Cup winners, had their names on the trophy about 50 times and had accrued about three months in penalty minutes through their illustrious careers.

What many of them are stoked about these days is the inclusion of a wellness section in the recently agreed-to Collective Bargaining Agreement that will address health concerns, medical care and costs, not just for current players, but for alumni as well.

It is a significant step for retired players, according to Nick Kypreos, the Sportsnet broadcaster whose eight-year NHL career ended because of a head injury in 1997.

“Glenn’s really done an amazing job of acknowledging our history, and again today, gathering 30,000 games played on a summer’s day,” Kypreos said. “But really, between the past and the present and the future, we’re all intertwined, right? So one can’t function without the other. And for the alumni to acknowledge Johnny Gaudreau and his history and where he stands now in our game, is once again showing everybody how we’re all connected.

“To that point, the fact that there’s a wellness clause in the new CBA, it’s huge. I mean, I retired in the late 1990s when we were big and tough, and not supposed to talk about that sort of stuff. And now it’s absolutely part of our culture. And it’s acknowledged. And it should be.

“Now guys and their families can ask for help, whatever it might be for. I mean, 25, 30 years ago, it was perceived to show weakness. Now it’s taken seriously. Now it shows strength.

“That’s how far we’ve come.”

Trottier couldn’t have said it any better.

“It was awesome to see [Gaudreau] remembered here,” Trottier said. “It’s what it’s all about. We don’t forget those who aren’t with us anymore who were in our fraternity, no matter the age. We don’t forget the roots of the players who set the stage for us, and the ones who are doing it now. Whether it be the guys who used to play or are doing so now, Glenn has brought it all together.

“Look, to get the wellness clause in the CBA, well, the current players are going to be us one day. There’s continuity there, so this is a long time coming, and there’s a cost. Once Glenn and his team and his staff figured out that cost, they were able to go to the NHL and the current players and say, ‘Here’s the cost. Now are you in?’”

The answer was yes.

“Like I mentioned, we’re all in this together,” he said.

With that, Trottier picked up his guitar and joined the accompanying band to sing a variety of songs, including John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” for the alumni gathered in the clubhouse after play on the course had finished. Sitting in front of him: the Hart Trophy, which he won while with the New York Islanders in 1979.

“It’s great to see how unified everyone is,” he said afterward. “Hockey can give you physical, mental, financial hardships in your life.

“Thanks in part to Glenn, it’s being addressed as a unified group.”