The Daily: NHL Mourns Johnny Hockey; KHL Celebrates Fedorov

It’s difficult for the hockey community to read social media posts today. The death of Johnny Gaudreau and brother has hit the NHL hard. Many appear to in shock, overwhelmed by the news that Johnny Hockey and his brother were killed by an alledged drunk driver.

They were on bicycles Thursday night when they were struck by a jeep driven by Sean Higgins who has been arrested on the suspician of drunk driving and being responsible for two deaths with his automobile. Police say he told them he had “five or six” beers. 

The Gaudreaus were supposed to be groomsmen at  their sister’s wedding today. It’s hard to imagine what the that family is going through today.

We’ve known athletes, some from the NHL, who have been killed during their careers. Pelle Lindbergh was killed in a single-car accident five months after winning the Vezina Trophy and helping the Philadelphia Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Finals. He was 26. Atlanta Thrashers center Dan Snyder was a passenger in teammate Dany Heatley’s car when he was killed in a single car accident in 2003. Tim Horton was 44 and still playing for the Buffalo Sabres when he was killed in an accident driving from Toronto to Buffalo.

Every sport has had its share of tragedies, and they never get easier to accept.  Gaudreau was a dynamic NHL player with an engaging personality. Many stories are being shared. Many videos are being posted.

A young Blue Jackets fan adds his stick to the Johnny Gaudreau memorial.

His stick has the number 13 on the end. pic.twitter.com/esvNOfzFFO

— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) August 30, 2024

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

Propect Marco Kasper won’t be going to the Olympics with other NHLers. Austria didn’t win the pre-Olympic qualifier.

Igor Larionov said he has turned down job offers in the NHL. Could one of those offers have been from the Red Wings?

The Red Wings gave feisty forward Austin Watson a PTO deal. How much interest do they really have in him? Bob Duff has the story.

Red Wings Offseason

In North America, Sergei Fedorov is known as a two-way force as an NHL player. In the KHL, they talk about his coaching prowess. The Russian-based league put out this story on its website today:

Sergei Fedorov unexpectedly took charge of CSKA in 2021 and led the team to two Gagarin Cup victories in two seasons.https://t.co/w97PG08GgG

— KHL (@khl_eng) August 30, 2024

Hockey Now Network

Colorado: The Avalanche will be featured often on national television. Plenty of screen time for Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon.  Colorado Avalanche

Philadelphia: The coach of the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan team told the Russian media it looked into the possibility of signing Carter Hart. However, nothing resulted from their exploration. Philadelphia Flyers.