Johnny Gaudreau's wife Meredith has wholesome reaction to Columbus Fury's heartfelt tribute to late Gaudreau brothers

Late NHL player Johnny Gaudreau’s wife Meredith Gaudreau had an emotional reaction to a local volleyball team’s tribute to Johnny and his brother Matthew. Meredith also expressed her love for the city of Columbus.

The members of the Columbus Fury, a women’s volleyball team who play in the Pro Volleyball Federation team, wore special T-shirts to honor the Gaudreau brothers.

Ahead of their first competitive game of the year on Saturday, the Fury's players arrived at their arena wearing navy blue T-shirts with a logo that read "Gaudreau" and had the brothers’ jersey numbers, 13 and 21, on it. The team posted photos of the arriving players wearing the shirts on their official X account.

“This one is for Johnny Hockey @BlueJacketsNHL First serve is at 7PM!” Columbus Fury tweeted.

Meredith responded with a grateful post on X.

"Love this city so much. Thank you @ColumbusFury," Meredith wrote.

The former Columbus Blue Jackets forward and his brother Matthew, also a professional hockey player, were killed in a biking accident in Oldmans Township, New Jersey on Aug. 29. The brothers were in town for their sister Katie’s wedding and were hit by a car driven by Sean Higgins, allegedly while under the influence.

The hockey community and the city of Columbus have rallied in support of the Gaudreaus in the wake of the tragedy.

Johnny Gaudreau's wife Meredith reacts to his junior team jersey retirement

The USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints, who Johnny Gaudreau played for in 2010-11 as a junior, organized a special ceremony on Saturday to retire his jersey.

Meredith reacted to the announcement with a simple two-word message on X.

“Love you,” Meredith Gaudreau commented.

Johnny won the Clark Cup in his only season with the Fighting Saints and was also voted USHL Rookie of the Year. He later became part owner of the franchise before the 2018-19 season.

"Johnny and Matty were special guys who had a love for each other and a love for the game of hockey," Dubuque part owner Peter Luukko said on Thursday, via NHL.com. "As we honor their memory and their significant impact on the game, we will forever remember Johnny's contributions to the Fighting Saints, as no one will ever wear the No. 8 again as a Fighting Saint."

Meredith, Johnny’s parents and sisters Kristin and Katie attended the ceremony. The team announced that the USHL would also be instituting an award to honor the brothers.