[News] Confirmed: Johnny Gaudreau and brother Matt have passed away

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by Blaster86

What I learned about Torts from his brief time in Vancouver was how amazing he was as a person. I also realized as awful as he can seem to be to his players, he would go through a ####ing wall for them.

Know a player who played for both Torts and Keenan. Said Torts is one of the best humans around and does a tonne of zero profile charity work. Definitely not the what he said about Keenan.

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Know a player who played for both Torts and Keenan. Said Torts is one of the best humans around and does a tonne of zero profile charity work. Definitely not the what he said about Keenan.

Yep. Even in his single year in Vancouver, he was incredibly active in the community and has apparently continued to do so, at an understandably much lower rate, even after leaving. And he was only here for a year.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Know a player who played for both Torts and Keenan. Said Torts is one of the best humans around and does a tonne of zero profile charity work. Definitely not the what he said about Keenan.

Regher said Keenan was the worst coach he ever played for.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I've always thought the fundamental difference between the two is that Keenan is an ego-maniac and Torts just cares a ton about winning.
Both can manifest in some not great behaviors, and probably not being the best coach for some players, but the motivations within seem quite different.

[Nammer403]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1838288618361630816

[Manhattanboy]

Very well done Torts. Am now a Flyers fan.

[All In Good Time]

Great move by Tortorella. After seeing the video of Guy at the funeral it was hard to imagine how he would ever be able to move ahead.
Its ideas like this that will help in that process.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Didn't Darryl have Guy come in and coach or give the team a talk during the 21/22 season?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Feels impossible to imagine Guy doing anything considering his loss and how we saw him at the funeral.
Heartwarming to hear he was able to get out there and do that. Can only hope he continues to find normal things to do to keep moving forward in life and honoring the memory of his boys.

[Royle9]

Very well done by Torts and I’m glad Guy was able to get out there.
I hope that he finds solace being around the team and potentially running things with Torts.

Happy to see him doing better, even if it’s just a small step.

[Calgary]

What a great gesture. Torts is a beauty.

[Sylvanfan]

Have to respect Torts for this move. It genuinely seems like he's trying to help Guy keep his love for the game. Before all of this it's hard to find anyone who loves hockey as much as Guy Gaudreau does. It would be a shame if he lost that too after losing his boys.

[manwiches]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Have to respect Torts for this move. It genuinely seems like he's trying to help Guy keep his love for the game. Before all of this it's hard to find anyone who loves hockey as much as Guy Gaudreau does. It would be a shame if he lost that too after losing his boys.

Not the same, but similar. When my grandpa passed away 15 years ago, being on the ice actually was healing for me. I would think Guy would find the same thing, where being on the ice is somewhat cathartic.

I'm glad to see Torts do this for him

[FlamesAddiction]

I can't imagine how difficult it is go Guy and Jane, but I imagine crippling depression over such a loss can grip you. I am glad that Torts and the Flyers are making efforts to keep the human connections going.

[Huntingwhale]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZIR...IjApXc&index=2

At 57:50 is the bit Barn Burner did on the Torts/Guy story. I can't tell you how happy I was to see this. The image of Guy being carried out of the church is forever scarred into my mind. I know it doesn't mean much and is perhaps a bit selfish to say, but if you want a better lasting image of Guy going forward, this is the perfect eye bleach.

Say what you want about Torts, but he's always been a stand up guy, great in the community and a solid human being. I think he just looks so crazy at times because he wants to win so bad and will accept nothing less then 100% from his players. But nobody can say he's a bad person ala Keenan or Babcock.

[calumniate]

Dang.. thanks!

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by manwiches

Not the same, but similar. When my grandpa passed away 15 years ago, being on the ice actually was healing for me. I would think Guy would find the same thing, where being on the ice is somewhat cathartic.

I'm glad to see Torts do this for him

i agree 100%


my dad died 7 years ago in early september. i found one of the best things for me was getting back on the ice with my beer league team. just getting out with the boys... laughing, having a good time, having guys to talk to -it was so helpful at such a difficult time.

[Jetfire]

More from Chucky:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/579...ship-memories/

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Jetfire

More from Chucky:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/579...ship-memories/

“Ever since I left Calgary and came to Florida, all I ever do is tell stories about Johnny,” Tkachuk said. “At one point, I was probably telling the guys down here a Johnny story once a week. I was always talking about him, about something funny he had done, something he had done in practice, whatever. He was the kind of guy that you could never get out of your mind, and I hated being away from him.”

Gaudreau and Tkachuk talked all the time after leaving Calgary, and while they badly missed playing together, they looked forward to having another opportunity to wear the same jersey and maybe even play on the same line.

...

“You have to understand that Johnny and I talked about being in the Olympics together a lot,” Tkachuk said. “In 2022, when they canceled us from being in the Olympics, we were so upset. We were both playing really well together in Calgary and we thought we were going to be so good in the Olympics. We talked about it all the time. That was a tough one. He had played for Team USA in so many big events, and I know it meant a lot to him. Obviously, we would have been together this time. It’s tough to think about right now. But I know he would have been excited for those tournaments and he will be on my mind during those times even more than he usually is.”

A couple paragraphs from behind the wall.

[Jetfire]

Whoops, didn't realize it was paywalled, sorry. I saw it on mobile and was able to read it fine earlier in the day.