Gaudreau's father skates with Flames ahead of emotional return to Calgary

CALGARY — The warm embrace said plenty, the slow skate around the rink together said even more.

Invited to join the Flames as a guest coach ahead of Tuesday night's tribute to his sons, Guy Gaudreau was showered with love the minute he stepped onto the ice.

A hug and chit-chat with Dan Vladar was followed immediately by a reunion with one of Johnny’s closest teammates, Rasmus Andersson.

The hug was followed by a series of slow laps together during warm-up, during which Andersson put his arm around Gaudreau as they exchanged hearty helpings of healing.

“It’s hard because you still want to talk about it, but we talked about life,” said Andersson of their stroll. 

“He loves talking about hockey, so we spent a lot of time talking about hockey. I told him he’s got to help us out there get our goal-scoring going. He had his own conclusion as to why we’re not scoring.”

Andersson didn’t reveal Guy’s theory, or the contents of their chat.

What mattered more was their being together.

“This is his therapy, to be around the rink,” said Andersson, who said Guy and wife Jane babysat his daughter at Andrew Mangiapane’s summertime wedding, at which he and Johnny were best men.

“That helped him going through what he’s going through.

“It was great.

“It will never be the way it used to be for him, and none of us, but he still loves to be around the rink and it was great to see him here today.

“For him to be on the ice, it’s not easy for any one of us, and it’s definitely not easy for him, but this is his therapy, and I told him, 'Come out whenever you want. You always have a spot on the ice and I hope they make it out again.'"

You get the feeling they just might.

The connection between Johnny’s family and the city was that strong, making their visit ahead of Tuesday’s pre-game celebration of life something they’ve likely looked at with mixed emotions.

As Jane told Sportsnet via email, some of their fondest memories and relationships are from Calgary.

More will be forged in bittersweet fashion over the next couple of days, including a quiet ceremony for the family at a local rink where a bench made out of the sticks left at the makeshift memorial will be dedicated in Johnny's honour.

Powerful.

Guy arrived at the Saddledome like a child excitedly approaching an outdoor rink, with skates in hand.

As part of their rock star existence in town, Guy would often arrive with his gear so he could join random beer league skates around town.

“It’s great to see him laughing and helping out — it’s healing for everyone to be together and spend some time,” said Blake Coleman, whose lengthy friendship with Gaudreau is such that their parents are also tight.

“You can just tell he loves the game of hockey, and being around it, and I think it helps take his mind off it. And it’s fun for us.”

Late in the Flames practice Gaudreau was tasked with feeding the slot — a natural for Gaudreau’s apparently — and then shielding the puck for a corner battle with an approaching forward.

Guy wasn’t interested in taking it lightly.

“Just making sure he still had it,” chuckled Coleman, who approached Guy with significant speed, only to receive a series of playful hooks and a high stick as he exited with the puck. 

“Then he started chirping me, saying, 'That’s all you got?'

"So it’s fun. You enjoy the banter. He’s always been that type of guy you could mess around with. It’s great to see he’s still got that.”

Flashing plenty of grins on the ice as he visited with familiar faces, and was introduced to new ones, Guy really lit up when Sean Monahan showed up on the visitors’ bench with Boone Jenner for a massive hug and welcome visit.

Healing together.

It would be impossible to know just how hard so many of Guy’s days have been since Johnny and son Matthew were taken from him by an alleged drunk driver who killed both in late August while they rode bicycles on the side of a rural road.

This was one of the good days, taking his and his family’s minds to the good times.

“Hockey is kind of family, and he and his family were a big part of this community and probably the most enjoyable times he’s had were around his family and the rink,” said coach Ryan Huska of the rationale behind inviting Guy to skate.

“It gave us an opportunity to bring him in today and be around the players and the game he loves.

“He told a few of them he was going to slash or crosscheck them if they came and took the puck from him, so he did that a few times. It was good to see.”

The smile on Guy’s face as he battled in the corner was heartening, as this whole city has tried so hard to help bring comfort to him and his family.

They’ll get another chance before puck drop, as a video tribute will be followed, no doubt, by one of the most stirring ovations the Saddledome has ever seen.

“I hope tomorrow everyone can just appreciate, first of all what a great person he was, and then a great hockey player,” said Andersson, who said Friday’s game in Columbus was the toughest game mentally he’s ever played.

“It will be difficult for many of us. Hopefully some of the guys who haven’t played with Johnny can pick us up.”

Coleman appreciates the chance for the city to help carry on the legacy Johnny created with nine seasons of memorable contributions on and off the ice.

“It’s that expression of gone but not forgotten,” said Coleman. “Sharing his memory is important to do.

“Hopefully his family enjoys the reunion of coming back to Calgary because I know the people here really care about him and want to show their love and appreciation.”

The tragedy hit home for everyone in Calgary, in different ways.

“For me it’s a reminder every day of how fragile life is and you have to have your priorities right,” added Coleman, as his two young daughters frolicked and spread smiles around the dressing room.

“I’ve got my little ones here today, just little reminders of spending time and being there for your family because you never know.

“Every time I go down the rabbit hole and think about it it’s still difficult. Gone too soon but the only way to honour him at this point is just to live your life, be a really good person, be a good friend, good father, good teammate — all the things Johnny was, and try to carry on that legacy.”