Johnny Gaudreau's widow Meredith reacts to Sean Monahan's emotional reminiscence of late CBJ forward

Johnny Gaudreau's widow, Meredith, was moved by the emotional words of her late husband's longtime friend and teammate, Sean Monahan. He spoke fondly of Johnny, who tragically passed away in a biking accident in late August, alongside his brother Matthew.

Seeing Johnny Gaudreau's jersey hanging in the Columbus Blue Jackets' locker room for the first time brought a lot of emotions for Monahan. After a 6-3 preseason win against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, Monahan said:

"Not gonna lie, it was pretty heavy walking in to see Johnny's jersey hanging here for the first time. It was nice to get out there and play, so get the first one out of way."

Despite the difficulty, Monahan also draws inspiration from seeing his good friend's jersey.

"I mean look at it, it brings back a lot of memories, smiles, laughs," he reflected. "Today is the first time seeing it, so obviously a little bit different but, yeah, I mean anytime I see his stuff around the locker room and what not it brings back good memories for me."

On Monahan's comments, Meredith Gaudreau said:

"John's favorite guy in the world."

Fans react to Sean Monahan's emotional reminiscence of Johnny Gaudreau

Fans were touched by Sean Monahan's reflections on his cherished memories with Johnny Gaudreau as teammates and friends.

Many fans expressed their empathy for Monahan on X, with one commenting:

"You can tell by the tone of his voice how difficult this was for him. My heart hurts so bad for you and your beautiful family Meredith"

Another fan noted:

"Friendship, love, peace and serinity to you, Sean and your family Meredith."

Here are some fan reactions:

"My heart was just out for him all day today knowing this wasn’t how any of you or us expected this to go. I cried when he got first star. Just thinking about you all every single day." one fan wrote on X.

"Your family became our family. Thank you for being part of it and let us be part of it. We are with you all forever and ever amen" another fan wrote.

"Johnny is smiling down on his best buddy." a user commented.

"Praying for all affected by this tragedy" another user commented.

Sean Monahan netted two goals in his first preseason game over the Buffalo Sabres.