NHL 27 Puts Johnny Gaudreau’s Banner in Nationwide Arena
EA didn’t skip the hardest detail in Columbus.
Johnny Gaudreau’s No. 13 banner hangs in the Nationwide Arena rafters in NHL 27, sitting next to the Ohio and Canadian flags exactly where it hangs in real life. Fans caught it in the reveal materials EA rolled out Thursday.
Here’s the banner in-game:That banner isn’t a one-off nod. EA rebuilt all 32 arenas for NHL 27, down to real pre-game entrances, goal songs and reworked crowds, and Nationwide came with the rafters intact.
Take a look at the full reveal trailer:
Columbus raised the real one on Oct. 15, 2024, before its first home game since Gaudreau’s death. The white banner reads “JOHNNY GAUDREAU 1993-2024” with his number inside a blue circle.
Both teams warmed up in No. 13 sweaters that night. Florida’s players lined the blue carpet as Meredith Gaudreau and her kids walked out, then 13 seconds ran off the clock and the building chanted “JOHN-NY HOCK-EY.”
The Blue Jackets never formally retired the number. They didn’t need to. A team official said afterward that nobody is expected to wear 13 in Columbus again.
Gaudreau died in August 2024, killed alongside his brother Matthew by a driver while the two were biking in New Jersey. He was 31.
He only got two seasons in a Blue Jackets sweater, and he led the team in scoring in both of them, piling up 134 points in 161 games.
NHL 27 drops Sept. 11 with Macklin Celebrini on the cover and Connected Franchise headlining the feature list.
Columbus fans will see that banner every time they load into Nationwide.
Columbus Blue Jackets memorialize Johnny Gaudreau, hoist ’13’ banner
There’s a new banner in the rafters at Nationwide Arena.
During a pregame ceremony honoring the life of Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed Aug. 29 along with his brother Matthew, the Blue Jackets hoisted a white banner bearing his No. 13, while his widow, Meredith and young kids, Noa and Johnny, watched on the ice.
They stood next to Sean Monahan, one of Gaudreau’s best friends and a center who signed with the Blue Jackets on July 1 partly to reunite with Gaudreau. They played together with the Calgary Flames for almost a decade, and planned to live a few houses away from each other in Columbus. Monahan held one of the kids, while Meredith had the other, wiping away tears as the banner lifted into place.
The ceremony was preceded by a touching video of Gaudreau’s life and career on the screens above the ice, and Meredith Gaudreau provided a recorded message to fans — known in Columbus as The 5th Line ― after the ceremony, urging them to cheer for the Blue Jackets rather than be filled with grief.
“I don’t want anyone to be sad,” she said. “I want everyone to be inspired by the life that John lived. That is love your family, first and foremost, and when it’s time to drop the puck, let’s love the game that John loved.”
More members of Gaudreau’s family, including parents Guy and Jane, plus members of Meredith’s family watched from a private box, which was shown prior to the banner raising. Both teams, after wearing No. 13 jerseys in warmups on each side of the ice, lined a blue carpet for Meredith and the Gaudreau children to walk.
On their way back to the bench, they received hugs from players on both teams, along with the clacking of sticks tapping the ice in salute. The Blue Jackets and Panthers players also honored Gaudreau by having Monahan win the opening faceoff, without a left wing where Gauread played on the top line. Monahan sent the puck to the spot where Gaudreau would’ve been and the game clock burned off 13 seconds while players from both teams stood still.
