Last night I attended my first Flames game of the 2024-25 season, and there is an obvious reason last night was the night I felt the need to drop a few bones to be in the barn.
The Flames returned home after a BLEAK 4-game road trip, playing host to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who they’d seen only a few days prior, with a not so happy ending. But more importantly, this marked the first time that both teams Johnny Gaudreau called his own were together in Calgary, where Gaudreau spent nearly all of his career. With Gaudreau’s family and friends under the Saddledome roof, along with Sean Monahan across the ice, the Flames organization did an incredible job of Honouring Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, as well as their family and loved ones in a super emotional pre-game ceremony.
Both teams hit the ice in #13 Gaudreau sweaters for warmups, and began the night with an amazing tribute video to Johnny, featuring a rendition of “Go, Johnny, Go” by the Flames’ anthem signer, George Canyon, as well as countless clips of Johnny’s time in Calgary. What was so nice about the video tribute to me, was that, yes there were clips of his time on the ice here, but there were SO many clips of him being a huge part of the fabric of Calgary itself. There was so much to show of the ways that this truly was his home. Community engagement, hanging out and skating with kids, smiling literally all the time. As much as we obviously remember that Johnny Hockey was a stud, and contributed so much on the ice, I really loved how much of his off-ice contributions to the Calgary community was highlighted as well.
I was lucky enough to be on the glass behind the Flames’ bench and let me tell you, it was worth whatever I had to be there last night. The entire building was on the exact same page last night. The emotion was unbelievably palpable no matter where you were. Between the silence, the applause, and the chants for Johnny, every single person in the Dome last night understood the assignment. After the Ceremonial Puck Drop by the Gaudreau family, taken by Backlund and Monahan, the Dome did not observe a moment of silence, but instead a round of applause and chants of “Johnny” to finish off what was probably the heaviest moment I’ve ever seen inside that building. Not to mention that there was not one single dry eye in that place.
Just as the Blue Jackets won their home matchup with the Flames late last week, the poetry of this beautiful game did kind of dictate the Flames would show out for Johnny when it came their turn at home, their 13th win of the season, in their 13th home game. Goals from Raz Andersson (who chose to forego his usual death stare into the crowd, and pointed up to the box where the Gaudreau family spent the night), Kevin Bahl (his first as a Flame) and an empty netter from Yegor Sharangovich propelled the Flames to the W, behind Vladar’s 2nd shutout of the year. However, Vladar did not appear in the game’s Three Stars because #1 was awarded to someone who truly deserved all of the credit for inspiring the Flames to perform at the highest level.
Guy Gaudreau stepped out onto the ice with Raz and Backs with what was honestly the most perfect, poetic way to finish a night that deserved to be remembered for how incredible it was to be a part of.
I was 5 feet away from the Gaudreau family and the Flames during the beginning of that ceremony last night, and spent the rest of the night right behind their bench, and I still haven’t wrapped my head around how it would have been possible to play a hockey game after everything that happened to start, but as Guy himself said “These are tough guys, and they’re great hockey players, and I’m proud of them. John’s looking down at them and proud of them also.”
Overall it was an incredible experience, and emotional night all around, and another reason why this game is the best game in the world. We all feel it when one of us feels it, we stand together when one of us is going through it, and when one of us heals, we all start to heal a little bit too.
Thank You Johnny, Thank You Hockey, Go Flames.
The Morning Skate 