Photo: Johnny Gaudreau Honored on Elvis Merzlikins' Custom Blue Jackets Goalie Mask
October 1, 2024
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins will honor his late teammate Johnny Gaudreau with his mask design for the 2024-25 season.
The chin covering of Merzlikins' mask features Gaudreau's No. 13 beside a plate of pasta. Gaudreau ate buttered pasta as part of his pregame ritual.
Gaudreau, 31, was killed alongside his 29-year-old brother Matthew Gaudreau when the two were struck by a car while riding bicycles in August.
Merzlikins and Gaudreau played two seasons together in Columbus after the former Calgary Flames forward joined the Blue Jackets ahead of the 2022-23 season.
The Blue Jackets goaltender used a previous helmet design to honor another late teammate, goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks, who died at age 24 following a fireworks accident in 2021. Merzlikins' mask for the 2021-22 season subsequently featured Kivlenieks' No. 80 surrounded by angel wings.
Merzlikins will be joined by the entire NHL in honoring Gaudreau for the first two weeks of the 2024-25 season. The NHL announced on Monday that all 32 teams would honor the Gaudreau brothers by wearing helmet decals with their jersey numbers and the letter "G" through Oct. 24.
The decals, which feature No. 13 for Johnny Gaudreau and No. 21 for Matthew Gaudreau, will debut on Friday during a game between the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres in Prague.
