Johnny Gaudreau had only played one NHL game when Brad Treliving took over as the general manager of the Calgary Flames prior to the 2014-15 season.
With Treliving at the helm in his first year as an NHL GM, Gaudreau burst onto the scene in his first full season in the league, recording 24 goals and 40 assists to help the Flames snap a five-year playoff drought.
On Wednesday, Treliving joined Sportsnet 960’s Flames Talk to remember Gaudreau both on and off the ice after the former Flames star and his brother Matthew were killed last week while cycling on a rural two-lane road near their home in Salem, N.J.
“I know what the city of Calgary and the fans of the Flames thought of Johnny, so I can only imagine how everybody is doing there,” Treliving said.
There is currently a growing memorial on the steps of the Saddledome in Calgary and two candlelight vigils are planned to honour the Gaudreaus in both Calgary and Columbus on Wednesday night.
Treliving said the outpour of support is not surprising, especially for those who got to know the Gaudreau family over the years.
“To know Johnny was to know his family,” Treliving said. “We used to joke, all families are close, but when you got John you got the crew. And they fell in love with Calgary and Calgary fell in love with them.”
Gaudreau spent eight full seasons with the Flames and is fifth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 210 goals and 399 assists over 602 games as a Flame.
Treliving, who was there to witness Gaudreau’s journey from exciting rookie to league superstar firsthand, spoke Wednesday about what made “Johnny Hockey” such a special player.
“His brain, he was smarter than everybody,” the now Toronto Maple Leafs GM said. “… He saw (the game) earlier, faster, he just saw it better than everybody. It was happening in his mind in slow motion so he just had elite, elite hockey sense.”
While most were well aware of his skill on the ice, Treliving said one thing about Gaudreau that may not be well known was that he had an extreme desire to win.
“What’s so underappreciated by people other than the ones that are around him is his competitiveness,” Treliving said. “He’s a competitor, like an ultimate competitor. He hated to lose, he hated not to have success and he was widely competitive.”
But for all his success on the ice, it was how Gaudreau handled his stardom off the ice that showed Treliving just how incredible of a man he truly was.
“He was just so down to earth,” Treliving said. “… You’re around this game long enough, you see these guys grow up, they’re like your own kids. By the time he left Calgary, he was this man, he was getting married, ready to start a family. He was so much more comfortable around the media.
“… Just a real down-to-earth, unassuming guy. There was no ego.”
For those wishing to hear more tributes and stories about Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, the candlelight vigil will take place at 8 p.m. MT / 10 p.m. ET at the west stairs of the Scotiabank Saddledome. For those unable to attend, Calgary will stream the candlelight vigil on the Flames website, app and on the team’s social media channels.
The Flames announced that the event is expected to be 45 minutes, including speakers from the organization and a 13-minute vigil for Johnny and Matthew.
