It’s been a tough few days for the hockey world following the sudden and tragic deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau last Thursday night. On Tuesday afternoon, the Calgary Flames made two related announcements.
First, they announced that they’ve slightly rearranged the fan-made memorial to the Gaudreaus, which was previously covering most of the west entrance steps to the Saddledome. The memorial has been shifted to the left, covering a portion of the west stairs now and also expanding onto the grassy areas beside the stairs.
(Our pal Rick Tulsie provided a look at the new set-up on social media.)
Second, they announced a candlelight vigil will be held on Wednesday night (Sept. 4) at 8 p.m. MT in honour of the Gaudreaus.
(The “candles” will be available digitally via the Flames app.)
The vigil represents day one of a 13-day observance in honour of the Gaudreaus.
Via the club, here’s a schedule for the vigil:
The event is expected to be 45 minutes and will include a 13-minute vigil for Johnny & Matthew with accompanying speakers from the Flames.
• Program Begins: 8:00pm
• Speakers
• Sunset: 8:14pm
• 13 minute vigil begins shortly after sunset
• Program Ends: 8:45pm
We’re told that Stampede Trail will be closed between 14th and 17th Avenues (in-between the Saddledome and BMO Centre), so parking will be accessible on the north side along 11th Avenue and in Stampede Park from the south entrance at 25th Avenue only. Based on the turnout at the memorial site thus far we would expect a big turnout for the vigil, so we would recommend aiming to arrive early to avoid any traffic or parking headaches.
For those out of town or unable to attend in person, the Flames will have a live stream of the event on their website.