The Columbus Blue Jackets’ home opener for the 2024-25 season will take on a different tone this year as the team continues to mourn the recent death of star forward Johnny Gaudreau.
The Blue Jackets are set to face the Florida Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions, at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday at Nationwide Arena. Usually, the Blue Jackets’ first regular season home game would be preceded by a party and a player ‘blue carpet’ walk, but the team rescheduled those events for the Oct. 17 game.
Instead, the team will show a pre-game video and host a ceremony remembering the lives of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, at 7 p.m. at the home opener. Puck drop is set for 7:13 p.m., a nod to Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey number 13.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were killed Aug. 29 when a suspected drunk driver struck them while the brothers were biking in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.
Fans attending the home opener will be able to visit a ‘special concourse tribute’ that includes items placed at the arena to remember the brothers, and all attendees will receive a ’13’ patch like the ones the Blue Jackets will be wearing all season, according to a Blue Jackets press release.
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Additionally, proceeds from the game’s jersey auction, CBJ Foundation 50/50 raffle, CBJ Foundation gameday auction and ’13 Gaudreau 21′ lapel pin sales will go to the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation. Fans interested in the auctions, which conclude during the home opener’s second intermission, or in the lapel pins can text JOHNNY to 26791 or visit cbjauction.givesmart.com, according to the press release.
The typical home opener festivities will kick off with the CBJ Plaza Party at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 17 before the Blue Jackets take on the Buffalo Sabres. Blue Jackets players will walk the ‘blue carpet’ from 4-5 p.m. that day, and arena doors open at 5:30 p.m., according to the press release.