Tragic death of NHL's Johnny Hockey puts sports in perspective

Tom Mayenknecht: In the worst of times, we are reminded that hockey is just a game, yet we also recognize how powerful sport can be as a community.

Published Aug 30, 2024  •  3 minute read

CP-Web. Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau plays during an NHL hockey game, Jan. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. Photo by Matt Slocum /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bulls-of-the-Week

The deaths of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Thursday night represent an unfathomable tragedy, the circumstances and timing of which only make it that much more shocking and heartbreaking.

What should have been a weekend of celebration is instead one of pain, grieving and loss, not only for the family and friends of the two athletes, but to the hockey franchises and organizations they’ve been part of during their careers, including in Johnny Hockey’s case, the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets, the NHL and the larger hockey and sports communities. From the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks to Major League Baseball and others, the many tributes have stood tall.

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In the worst of times, we are reminded that hockey is just a game, nowhere near as important as family and life itself. Yet we also recognize how powerful sport can be as a community. The outpouring of emotions, respects and memories from around the world of hockey and beyond has clearly demonstrated that for all its folly, sport can be a catalytic unifier and heartfelt common ground for people, even in grief. It’s in these inexplicable moments that sport can be such a meaningful and compelling shared experience. That won’t bring back the Gaudreau brothers, but it could help their family and friends deal with such a devastating and inexplicable loss.

Bears-of-the-Week

Caitlyn Clark is — simply put — the most singularly significant game-changer in women’s sports history. She has transformed the WNBA business model in remarkable fashion in this, her rookie year. Television numbers have risen dramatically and ticket sales have spiked to record levels. Opposing teams have booked bigger arenas to accommodate the demand to watch her play, increasing their own top and bottom lines in the process.

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Clark has engaged a new generation of WNBA fans, in turn fuelling more recognition and drawing power for her teammates and rivals alike. That’s why it’s such a bewildering moment whenever former players, female broadcasters and others go silent when they have the chance to give credit where credit is due. Those harbingers of negativity are the minority in a league that is clearly on the rise to the benefit of all stakeholders, but still so difficult to explain.

Meanwhile on the diamonds

Last week they became the first team this season — and the earliest club in modern baseball history — to be officially eliminated from post-season contention, and this week, the Chicago White Sox have hit rock bottom, reaching the 100-loss mark.

They go into the weekend 31-104, playing .230 baseball; worse than one win in every four starts. They are a remarkably pathetic 45.5 games behind the American League Central division leaders, the Cleveland Guardians and 42 games back of the Minnesota Twins, current holders of the last AL wild card spot. In other words, hopeless.

Not surprisingly, the White Sox are a pretty hard sell at the box office this summer. Their average attendance at Guaranteed Rate Field is 18,112, fourth worst in MLB and one of the poorest in Chicago AL franchise history. Only the Tampa Bay Rays (16,893), Miami Marlins (12,975) and the relocating, rudderless Oakland Athletics (9,877) have sold fewer tickets.

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Tom Mayenknecht is the host of The Sport Market on Sportsnet 650 on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Vancouver-based sport business commentator and principal in Emblematica Brand Builders provides a behind-the-scenes look at the sport business stories that matter most to fans. Follow Mayenknecht at: twitter.com/TheSportMarket.

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