BUFFALO – Sabres winger Alex Tuch sounded nostalgic recalling those visits Johnny Gaudreau made to the Boston College campus about a decade ago. When the budding NHL star dropped by late in the summer to see his brother, Matthew, a forward with the Eagles, he always treated the rest of the hockey team.
“I knew Johnny because he came back and he would visit Matty in school before the season started every year,” Tuch said after throwing out the first pitch prior to Saturday’s Bisons game at Sahlen Field. “He’d come and have a few beers with us.”
Tuch, 28, acknowledged he hadn’t spoken much about the Gaudreau brothers since a suspected drunk driver struck and killed them Aug. 29 while they rode their bicycles.
Their deaths have stunned the hockey world. Johnny was 31 and Matthew 29.
Johnny, who played one season alongside Matthew at Boston College, was hockey’s humble, down-to-earth star. After eight years with the Calgary Flames, he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022 to be closer to his family in New Jersey.
Matthew spent parts of five seasons playing pro hockey after leaving Boston College.
“I don’t think I have a single bad thing I could ever say about Matty Gaudreau,” Tuch said. “Honestly, he’s just a great person, super fun to be around, always got a smile on his face, always looking to make someone laugh. And he was a great teammate, too. He worked really hard, he sacrificed. It was always team first.”
Matthew’s wife, Madeline, is pregnant with their first child, a boy she plans to name Tripp, the same name as Tuch’s son.
“It’s crazy,” Tuch said. “Just makes you really cherish the time.”
Tuch said he hadn’t spoken to Johnny since Feb. 23 in Columbus, prior to a faceoff on the Nationwide Arena ice. A day earlier, Gaudreau’s wife, Meredith, had given birth to the couple’s second child, a boy they named Johnny. Tuch congratulated his friend before play resumed.
“We had a quick conversation before the puck dropped in Columbus,” he said.
Meredith revealed Monday during the brothers’ funeral she is pregnant with the couple’s third child.
As the season approaches – training camp opens Sept. 18 – Tuch and his teammates have been ramping up their on-ice workouts as more players arrive in town.
The Sabres’ upcoming trip to Europe will force them to hold an unusual camp. After six days, the team’s main group will travel to Germany and continue training. Meanwhile, another group likely comprised of AHL, ECHL and junior players will stay in Buffalo and prepare for their respective seasons.
They play an exhibition game Sept. 27 against Red Bull Munich, a team in Deutsche Eishockey Liga, before opening the regular season with back-to-back games Oct. 4 and 5 against the New Jersey Devils in Prague, Czechia.
“You’re just like, ‘Let’s just get this over with, I want to get through training camp, I just want to play hockey games,’” Tuch said. “So it’ll be a little different this year, doing it in Prague, but we’re excited for it.”
When Tuch chatted with the media following last season’s disappointing 84-point finish, the Sabres had just fired coach Don Granato. Speculation was rampant they would bring back Lindy Ruff, who was officially hired April 22.
Tuch, of course, grew up in Baldwinsville cheering for the Sabres during Ruff’s first tenure. Over the past several months, he has spoken with Ruff on the phone and at the rink.
“Just the team and myself included are really excited … to be coached by such a legendary coach, and a guy with just a lot of wins under his belt, lot of success in this league, lot of success in Buffalo,” he said. “And I think that just through the conversations he’s told us how excited he is, and also how much he’s changed as a person, as a coach, since he left Buffalo.
“I think he’s really excited for the challenge, and so are we.”
