Canadiens fans pay tribute to Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau ahead of pre-season game unlike Maple Leafs fans
The Montreal Canadiens held a moment of silence today for the Gaudreau brothers ahead of their first pre-season game.
The Canadiens joined a growing list of teams to honor the brothers after their tragic deaths last month. Every team around the league has honored them with a moment of silence before their inaugural pre-season games. This comes in addition to a broader tribute made by the NHL as a whole. The league released a video compilation featuring the brothers before pre-season action kicked off, and many teams have used it in their own moments of honor.
Today was the first time the Canadiens were in action for pre-season events and as such, they too held a 13-second moment of silence in honor of the brothers. Notably, Johnny wore number 13 during his NHL career with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Luckily, there were no interruptions tonight at the Bell Center as Habs fans stood in unity to remember the Gaudreau brothers. This in in stark contrast to what happened last night. Yesterday, the Leafs kicked off their pre-season with a dramatic game against the Senators. Like the other teams before them, they too held a moment of silence for Johnny and Matthew.
Unlike the other moments however, one Leafs fan shouted, "Go Leafs!" during the 13-second moment of silence. Naturally, fans were shocked and dismayed by the audacity of this cowardly fan.
Luckily, this appears to have been a single, isolated incident. So far, we have seen many teams do the same exact thing before their first pre-season games and there have been no other reports of fans misbehaving during the demonstration. That just goes to show that the vast majority of fans appreciate what these moments mean. Unfortunately though, it only takes one dufus in the crowd to bring down the reputation of an entire fanbase.
| POLL | ||
Which Montreal Canadiens player will lead the team in scoring this year? | ||
| Cole Caufield | 63 | 32.1 % |
| Nick Suzuki | 69 | 35.2 % |
| Patrik Laine | 35 | 17.9 % |
| Someone else | 29 | 14.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
