I honestly just hope that the Flames do a fantastic job at honouring the person that Gaudreau was on and off the ice early this season. Maybe do something like a '13 seconds of silence in Gaudreau's memory against drunk driving' as part of the start to every home game this season. That's something that I would love to see, actually.
Retirement shouldn't be done right away, or it will detract from his actual on-ice contributions. You don't retire a player because of the unfortunate circumstances of someone's passing. You retire a player because that player was one of your best players in franchise history for his accomplishments on the ice and for his contributions to the team off the ice. Additional consideration should be made for his contributions in the wider community as well.
Gaudreau fits in every way. He has the stats worthy of being retired. Every player loved him as a teammate. He made himself available at every turn for every cause the Flames wanted to support and he tried to make this community better for many people. I have no doubt that his retirement will eventually happen. I think the correct approach is that you honour the man that he was and the man that his family lost this year. After a few years (or whenever seems appropriate), you then honour the player that he was. I would rather have this done when his children are old enough to remember him being honoured with his jersey being lifted into the rafters, and 20,000 people chanting the name of their father who they probably won't even have first-hand memories of. I would think it appropriate for the Flames' Organization to work with the family and see what they are thinking, and include them in the planning. I think doing this when Johnny's kids are old enough to remember it and realize how special the moment is, would probably be the best time to retire Johnny's jersey.
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