Johnny Gaudreau's Baby Born, 7 Months After His Death

UPDATE Apr 8, 2025 12:30 AM CDT

Johnny Gaudreau's wife gave birth to the couple's third child last week, more than seven months after the hockey player was killed by a suspected drunk driver alongside his brother. Carter Michael Gaudreau, given the same middle name as his father, "looks exactly like his daddy, too," Meredith Gaudreau wrote on Instagram. "John, thank you for giving me our beautiful family. We love u, Daddy and miss you so much." The couple previously welcomed a daughter born in 2022 and a son born last year, Us reports. (Gaudreau's brother's first baby was born after his death.)

Sep 10, 2024 12:30 AM CDT

Before his tragic and untimely death, Johnny Gaudreau had gotten a piece of happy news from his wife, Meredith Gaudreau. "We're actually a family of five," she revealed in her emotional eulogy for her hockey star husband—killed alongside his brother by a suspected drunk driver on the eve of what was supposed to be their sister's wedding day in New Jersey—at the Gaudreau brothers' funeral in Pennsylvania Monday. Recalling what it was like to tell her husband the news, she continued: "I was so nervous because ... this was a total surprise, but his reaction was just immediately kissing me and hugging me even though I was driving the car."

She added, per USA Today, "How lucky am I to be the mother of John's three babies, our last one being a blessing and so special despite these difficult circumstances." She talked about the close bond between her husband and his brother, Matthew, whose wife is also pregnant with that couple's first child. "The fact that you are together in heaven gives me some comfort," Meredith Gaudreau said. Matthew's widow, Madeline, also spoke of the brothers' love for one another: "John took care of Matty and Matty would take care of John," she said. "To know both of them was to truly love them. It was impossible not to fall in love with them." In addition to family and friends, hockey players and NHL officials attended the funeral, the Columbus Dispatch reports. (More NHL stories.)