Columbus Blue Jackets will wear jersey patch to honor Johnny, Matthew Gaudreau

The Columbus Blue Jackets will wear a jersey patch and sticker on their helmets this upcoming NHL season to honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.

The brothers were killed by a suspected drunk driver while biking on the eve of their sister's wedding on a rural two-lane road in New Jersey.

The jersey patch features the last name "Gaudreau" stretched atop Johnny's number 13 and Matthew's number 21 with two doves in between.

Johnny, 31, was entering his third year with the Blue Jackets, after spending his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames. Matthew, 29, last played minor league hockey for the Worcester Railers in 2022.

The brothers were laid to rest earlier this month during a funeral service in Media, where Johnny's wife, Meredith, revealed during a eulogy that she is pregnant.

Matthew's wife, Madeline, is also pregnant with the couple's first child and described her husband as "born to be a Dad" during remarks at the funeral mass.

Sean Higgins, the 43-year-old driver charged with killing the brothers, was ordered to be held for trial despite defense arguments that he was a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.