Team USA men’s hockey kept the late Johnny Gaudreau in their hearts when they officially became gold medal champions at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Team USA beat Team Canada 2-1 in the gold medal game on Sunday, February 22, where they sweetly honored Gaudreau upon their victory. (The American victory marks the first time that the men’s hockey team clinched gold since the famous 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”)
Players were seen holding up a Team USA jersey for Gaudreau as they celebrated on the ice before cameras panned to the late athlete’s parents in the crowd. Jane and Guy Gaudreau were subsequently seen crying in the stands.
Johnny, who had been an Olympic hopeful, was struck and killed in a biking accident in August 2024 at age 31 alongside brother Matthew Gaudreau. Johnny is survived by his wife, Meredith Gaudreau, and their three children. (Matthew, who was 29, is survived by his wife and son.)
Jane and Guy also attended the men’s hockey semifinal matchup during the Milan Cortina Olympics, alongside Meredith and her kids.
“You should be here, John, and I’m so sorry you aren’t,” Meredith wrote via her Instagram Stories on Saturday, February 21. “So proud of you and your legacy.”
Meredith and kids Noa, 3, and Johnny Jr., 2, also attended the Sunday gold medal game, where they were brought onto the ice to celebrate with the team and their dad’s jersey. The game was coincidentally held on little Johnny’s second birthday. (Meredith gave birth to the couple’s third baby, son Carter, in 2025.)
“2-22 is baby Johnny’s birthday!! Special date picked by his daddy due to travel at the time,” Meredith wrote via Instagram on Saturday, February 21. “Happy 2nd birthday to our baby Johnny boy! We love you so much. I am so proud of you. Couldn’t think of a better way to spend your 2nd birthday than for a fun day tomorrow.”
Johnny’s mom, Jane, offered her own tribute in the comments section.
“Happy Birthday Baby Johnny! Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop love you so much and we can’t wait to spend the day with you,” Jane wrote. “Love you to the moon and back!”
The Gaudreau family has frequently been candid about their grief.
“Thank you for the best years of my life. Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours. I love you so so much,” Meredith wrote via Instagram in August 2024, breaking her silence after her husband died. “You were perfect. Some days it felt too good to be true. I love every single thing about you. You are my forever and I can’t wait to be with you again. I love you so much, forever and ever.”
In a follow-up tribute, Meredith noted that Johnny was “the absolute best dad in the world.”
“[He was] so caring and loving. The best partner to go through parenthood with,” she wrote at the time. “John never missed a single [doctors’] appointment. Was the best at putting the baby to sleep and the Apple of Noa’s eye. I love how much she looks like him. We are going to make you proud. We love you so so so much, Daddy.”
