For Don Waddell, leading Blue Jackets through Johnny Gaudreau tragedy is an echo of the past

In the hours after the Columbus Blue Jackets announced the deaths of star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, team president and general manager Don Waddell said he received about 500 text messages.

One of them hit him even harder than the others. They were Graham and LuAnn Snyder.

On September 29, 2003, the Snyders’ son Dan was seriously injured in a crash involving a car driven by his Atlanta Thrashers teammate Dany Heatley. Snyder died six days later.

More than 20 years later, the family is still in touch with Waddell, who was then the Thrashers’ general manager. The message they sent on Aug. 30, the day after a car struck and killed the Gaudreau brothers, wished the organization strength and contained a simple message to Waddell: There was no doubt he could lead the organization through this tragedy, just as he had led the Thrashers.

“I think it’s important in those times to feel some support or love from somewhere,” Snyder said. The Athletic. “Because the emotions are so strong.

“When I woke up and first heard the news, I saw the headline and I started reading… it took me about a minute and I thought, ‘Oh, my God. It’s Don again.’ I knew he had moved to Columbus.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, Don, how are you going to get through this?’”

Once again, he must lead a grieving organization through so much pain. And yet, at a time when hockey doesn’t seem to matter at all, he must somehow try to prepare the organization to play hockey again.

“Nobody wants this job, but he certainly helped us and the organization,” Graham Snyder said. “I just felt like we had to reach out to him. Because who can imagine going through that twice in their life?”

The message hit home.

“When Graham and LuAnn reached out to me that Friday, it meant a lot to me,” Waddell said. The Athletic“The family went through a difficult time, losing one of their two sons. It’s never easy for anyone. The way they handled it and the way we stayed in touch over the years meant a lot to me to hear from them, knowing that as parents who went through it, they felt we handled it as best we could and supported them.

“They are good people.”

Graham Snyder vividly remembers speaking to the Thrashers players after his son’s death in 2003 and wishing them strength to carry on.

“I remember walking into the Thrashers locker room in Atlanta, and I don’t know if I felt some strength coming from somewhere,” Snyder said. “I felt a calmness come over me and I started talking to the team about what needed to happen and that we were there for them.”

As Snyder recalls, the support from people in the sports world was very important.

“One of the things that has gotten us through this, and what’s happening in Columbus and the hockey world right now, is people are really, really coming together,” Snyder said. “I think it’s a sport like no other. The hockey world is so connected and so tight-knit.

“This is how they will get through it now, with the support of other players in the hockey world.”

The Jackets felt it well.

“Yes, 100 percent,” Waddell said. “It’s pretty evident by all the players that came to the funeral – a lot of players that played with him, but a lot of players that didn’t play with him. It impacted not only the Blue Jackets, but the entire National Hockey League. And the entire country, for that matter. I heard from so many people who didn’t know the Gaudreau family, but saw all the stories and just wanted to show their support and ask what they could do to help. It was touching.”

The idea now is to honor the memory of Johnny Gaudreau by playing for him.

“If it’s like Atlanta, the emotions will carry them for a while,” Snyder said.

For now, the Jackets are probably still in a fog of pain and shock. But they must find the strength to move forward.

“We are all devastated for the Gaudreau families,” Waddell said. “You never think that parents should bury their children. There’s not a moment that goes by that we don’t think about the families.”

“From a team standpoint, we know it’s going to be tough. But we also listened to Meredith (Johnny’s wife) when she spoke at church. She knows Johnny wants the best for us. I know the guys have talked about it, that he would want us to go out and do what we’re capable of doing and try to win as many hockey games as possible.”

It is essential to provide players with all the help they need.

“Everyone grieves differently,” Waddell said. “You don’t expect people to be able to do it alone. The union (NHLPA) has been great. They’ve provided several grief counselors.”

Waddell added that starting this week, thanks to Ohio Health, the Jackets also have people on site who can speak with players.

It will be a difficult process in the coming days.

“We have to try to figure out how to get through the healing process and keep moving forward,” Waddell said.

And as Waddell noted, the Blue Jackets also lost young goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks three years ago in a tragic death, an event that still leaves many scars on the organization.

It is not an easy path. But there is just hope that somehow, everyone will find the strength.

“It was a senseless and cruel way to lose a life,” Waddell said.

It’s a tragedy that will forever be etched in the memories of many affected. But in some way, through this, the Jackets will honour the spirit of a player beloved by his teammates. And in that context, they will want to continue to help the grieving Gaudreau family in any way they can.

The Snyders felt that way about the Thrashers 21 years ago.

“They were very supportive and helpful to us,” Snyder said. “It was really amazing and really touching.”

(Photo: Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)