The NHL world is still reeling days after facing the devastating loss of star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew. The two were killed in New Jersey by a suspected drunk driver as they biked on County Route 551 in Oldmans Township last Friday.
The tragic loss of both men has produced many emotional tributes from their friends, teammates, and peers in the hockey world. The latest notable name to offer up words for the brothers is NHL legend Jaromir Jagr who played part of the 2017-18 season, his last in the league, with Johnny Gaudreau on the Calgary Flames.
Jagr chose to feature his last ever NHL goal, directly assisted by Johnny, in his tribute. He put an instrumental version of Coldplay’s “Fix You” over the highlight.
“I honestly never thought I’d write a text like this to a post,” Jagr wrote in the caption as translated by Instagram. “Yea that was my last nhl goal Yes, that was a pretty nice goal. Yes, it was a beautiful pass above all. Unfortunately, life can sometimes be incredibly cruel. Thank you Johnny Gaudreau for being there and giving hope to all the guys with your incredible performances that though they are not the biggest and toughest, they can succeed at the NHL world class just like you did. My condolences to the whole family. R.I.P. to you and your brother.”
The goal, scored on November 9, 2017, came against the Detroit Red Wings and was the 766th of Jagr’s NHL career. Gaudreau fed the puck to Jagr on a 2-on-1 to make the game 5-2 with 2:59 left in the second period.
Calgary would go on to win 6-3 with Jagr chipping in two points (1g, 1a) and Gaudreau notching three points (2g, 1a).
Jagr played 22 total games with the Flames, his ninth NHL team, before negotiating a mutual termination of his contract due to injuries limiting his performance. After clearing waivers, the then 45-year-old was assigned to his hometown Rytíři Kladno, the team he owns in the Czech Extraliga.
The now 52-year-old Jagr has played parts of the last seven seasons with his team. In 15 games last year, he tallied four points (4a). He told iSport.cz in July that he has plans to play games during the 2024-25 season although he recently tore his hamstring during preseason training.
