Kevin Hayes and Johnny Gaudreau were a unique duo at Boston College.
One player stood at 6-foot-5, the other at 5-foot-9. The big Hayes protected the puck with his size and the boyish Gaudreau darted and dazzled.
They had different playing strengths. But the two sure seemed just alike off the ice.
"He's one of my best friends," Hayes said on Nov. 22, 2019, a day before Gaudreau and the Flames visited Hayes and the Flyers. "Not even within hockey, just within my life."
Hayes tragically lost his friend Thursday night. He and so many others are trying to somehow process the deaths of Gaudreau and his 29-year-old younger brother Matthew Gaudreau, who were killed by a drunk driver in Salem County, New Jersey, while riding their bikes, police said.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, was a local star, coming from Carneys Point Township in New Jersey and playing for Gloucester Catholic High School. He was an electric player for three years at Boston College alongside Hayes, who got married last August with Gaudreau as one of his groomsmen.
"We pretty much were inseparable for three years there," Hayes said in November 2019. "That's when he became Johnny Hockey. ... He was this little kid that looked like he was 12 and he was scoring every night, it was crazy."
Gaudreau would have been entering his third season with the Blue Jackets. He was a seven-time NHL All-Star, with six of those honors coming with the Flames. He played on the same line as Hayes at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game. It was Hayes' final season with the Flyers before he was traded last summer.
Hayes also lost his older brother Jimmy Hayes three years ago on Aug. 23.
The Flyers released the following statement Friday morning on the deaths of the Gaudreau brothers:
"The Philadelphia Flyers are heartbroken to learn of the sudden and tragic passing of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
Johnny and Matthew were deeply rooted in the Philadelphia and New Jersey community, where they spent their entire childhood on the ice.
Both were members of Gloucester Catholic High School, Team Comcast and the Philadelphia Little Flyers. Matthew reconnected with the Flyers organization where he played for our ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals, and later joined the coaching ranks in Philadelphia, which included his high school.
Throughout all of their success in the hockey world, both continued to give back to our community. Johnny and Matthew, as well as the entire Gaudreau family, have made a sizable difference in the lives of so many in the Philadelphia area to learning and growing to love the sport of hockey.
Our prayers and deepest sympathies go out to Johnny's wife, Meredith, their children, Noa and Johnny, Matthew's wife Madeline, and the entire Gaudreau family during this unimaginably difficult time.
Johnny and Matthew were, and always will be, beloved and cherished members of the Flyers community and entire hockey world."
There was an outpouring of condolences and other messages Friday for the Gaudreau family on X, formerly Twitter:
