Anyone else seeing the Johnny Hockey rumors on X?

[NotGoSportsBall]

Unofficially people are saying Johnny Gaudreau was killed in a bicycle accident in NJ. Being the internet, who knows if its true. Heck of a rumor to start for no reason, though. Terrible if true.

[Giroux]

It all appears to be true. He and his brother were back in NJ to be in their sister's wedding tomorrow.

Absolutely devastating. RIP to a South Jersey legend.

[Davis]

Wow, that is incredibly sad. RIP young man.

[kingb22]

https://www.dispatch.com/story/sport...l/75009208007/

[actionbryan]

Wow, shocking

[Bosoxfan5990]

So incredibly sad.

[kellmuff]

Unthinkable. That family just lost two brothers in an instant. Cant even imagine how bad that accident was and how fast that driver was going to kill both of them.

[Bosoxfan5990]

Originally Posted by kellmuff

Unthinkable. That family just lost two brothers in an instant. Cant even imagine how bad that accident was and how fast that driver was going to kill both of them.

Plus they were both supposed to be groomsmen at their sister's wedding today. I can't imagine the pain that the entire family must be feeling right now, on a day that should've been extremely happy.

[mrb842]

Sending thoughts to the Columbus/Calgary groups. Really good player.

[bloodwings19]

RIP, they did what they loved to do. As a 15 year bicyclists, I avoid roads or street as much as possible. Lucky to live in a town where there are hike/bike paths that can go miles and miles. You can still get a good workout riding the trails without using a peloton machine, or riding in the road/streets. Sad to hear, cycling is a really fun thing to do, it is like traveling.

[JohnnyAppleseed]

I used to work in the next town over. The area is a mix of residential and warehouses/distribution centers, so the roads are usually single-lane but built with very wide shoulders, and there are a lot of 18-wheeler trucks along them. The ground is also very flat, giving you long sightlines and a false sense of confidence of all your surroundings. The way people drive, to them both the speed limit and the lines are more of a recommendation than a requirement. Saw many people do 70+ in a 45, even in the dark or rain.

Low light conditions, drunk driver, speeding, ignoring the fact that it's a shoulder and not a passing lane... a recipe for a senseless tragedy.

[johnnydrama]

Suspected drunk driver. People make irresponsible decisions and it costs families husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, etc. Horrible, horrible tragedy.

[brettmik59]

RIP. The hyenas have flocked to ebay I see.

[senorlaverga]

Originally Posted by brettmik59

RIP. The hyenas have flocked to ebay I see.

Yep. Death merchants.

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by senorlaverga

Yep. Death merchants.

As long as there are buyers, there will be sellers.

RIP and condolences to their families.

[glen87]

Originally Posted by senorlaverga

Yep. Death merchants.

crazy prices on comc as well

[brettmik59]

Originally Posted by glen87

crazy prices on comc as well

I don't think it'll work out in the long run for buyers at these high prices as the event fades over time. But I know nowadays guys only think about the quick flip.

[stoopid]

Originally Posted by brettmik59

RIP. The hyenas have flocked to ebay I see.

There's 100,000 places to post condolences and grieve as necessary. I'd like to use this as an opportunity, on a card collecting forum, to get some info on this phenomena (which I fail to comprehend). Especially considering these mid-career deaths don't happen that often in pro sports.

Are people looking to buy or sell his cards right now? He wasn't on a hall of fame trajectory, and his card values have been declining with his lower production since signing with Columbus. What would people be buying into besides the continuing decline?

Do people actually care what other people do with their cards? The last time a younger athlete died I recall reading comments about "how dare they [sell the card of the recently deceased]", then in the next breath say things like "collect what you want", "collect what you love", and "it's their card(s) to do as they wish". So it's personal choice and ownership until... it's not?

To be clear, Johnny Gaudreau was someone I respected but never collected. I have zero skin in this. But being a member of the collector community I feel compelled to understand the dynamics.

[johnnydrama]

Originally Posted by stoopid

There's 100,000 places to post condolences and grieve as necessary. I'd like to use this as an opportunity, on a card collecting forum, to get some info on this phenomena (which I fail to comprehend). Especially considering these mid-career deaths don't happen that often in pro sports.

Are people looking to buy or sell his cards right now? He wasn't on a hall of fame trajectory, and his card values have been declining with his lower production since signing with Columbus. What would people be buying into besides the continuing decline?

Do people actually care what other people do with their cards? The last time a younger athlete died I recall reading comments about "how dare they [sell the card of the recently deceased]", then in the next breath say things like "collect what you want", "collect what you love", and "it's their card(s) to do as they wish". So it's personal choice and ownership until... it's not?

To be clear, Johnny Gaudreau was someone I respected but never collected. I have zero skin in this. But being a member of the collector community I feel compelled to understand the dynamics.

The only real issue when something like this happens is that sellers see it as an opportunity. It's scummy, there's no other way to classify it.

[ThatGuyPal]

Originally Posted by stoopid

There's 100,000 places to post condolences and grieve as necessary. I'd like to use this as an opportunity, on a card collecting forum, to get some info on this phenomena (which I fail to comprehend). Especially considering these mid-career deaths don't happen that often in pro sports.

Are people looking to buy or sell his cards right now? He wasn't on a hall of fame trajectory, and his card values have been declining with his lower production since signing with Columbus. What would people be buying into besides the continuing decline?

Do people actually care what other people do with their cards? The last time a younger athlete died I recall reading comments about "how dare they [sell the card of the recently deceased]", then in the next breath say things like "collect what you want", "collect what you love", and "it's their card(s) to do as they wish". So it's personal choice and ownership until... it's not?

To be clear, Johnny Gaudreau was someone I respected but never collected. I have zero skin in this. But being a member of the collector community I feel compelled to understand the dynamics.

People are buying because he passed, you never know how he may of made a fan feel, or signed an auto for their kid and now they feel compelled to buy after hearing the news. I don't think people buying currently are "future prospecting" his values, just like people weren't picking up Demar Hamlin at the time due to his on-field accomplishments.

I don't think anyone "Cares" what people do with their cards, no one is reporting the auctions, some just find it kind of slimey. I think if your first thought since it's been mere hours is "What Gaudreau cards do I have?" or to rush to Ebay I don't think your humanitarian of the year but it's your choice, and the card community collectively around Kobe time basically decided it's cool. Death unfortunately along with championships, broken records, HOF inductions is a top time to sell, so I don't blame anyone, personally I'd wait a day though as I'd feel an ick doing it immediately but again their choice.

[JohnnyAppleseed]

Originally Posted by stoopid

There's 100,000 places to post condolences and grieve as necessary. I'd like to use this as an opportunity, on a card collecting forum, to get some info on this phenomena (which I fail to comprehend). Especially considering these mid-career deaths don't happen that often in pro sports.

Are people looking to buy or sell his cards right now? He wasn't on a hall of fame trajectory, and his card values have been declining with his lower production since signing with Columbus. What would people be buying into besides the continuing decline?

Do people actually care what other people do with their cards? The last time a younger athlete died I recall reading comments about "how dare they [sell the card of the recently deceased]", then in the next breath say things like "collect what you want", "collect what you love", and "it's their card(s) to do as they wish". So it's personal choice and ownership until... it's not?

To be clear, Johnny Gaudreau was someone I respected but never collected. I have zero skin in this. But being a member of the collector community I feel compelled to understand the dynamics.

The short answer is money. The long answer is dead men sign no more autographs. The expectation is a guy will still sign hundreds more autographs every year for another ~30 years. That simply won't happen any more.

Yeah, it's pretty low to use someone's passing to make a quick buck, but as one of the two guarantees in life, plenty of people profit off of death. It's not the lowest thing I'll come across today, so I don't bother commenting on it. Just a big ol' frownyface.

[Chicosbailbonds]

Originally Posted by stoopid

There's 100,000 places to post condolences and grieve as necessary. I'd like to use this as an opportunity, on a card collecting forum, to get some info on this phenomena (which I fail to comprehend). Especially considering these mid-career deaths don't happen that often in pro sports.

Are people looking to buy or sell his cards right now? He wasn't on a hall of fame trajectory, and his card values have been declining with his lower production since signing with Columbus. What would people be buying into besides the continuing decline?

Do people actually care what other people do with their cards? The last time a younger athlete died I recall reading comments about "how dare they [sell the card of the recently deceased]", then in the next breath say things like "collect what you want", "collect what you love", and "it's their card(s) to do as they wish". So it's personal choice and ownership until... it's not?

To be clear, Johnny Gaudreau was someone I respected but never collected. I have zero skin in this. But being a member of the collector community I feel compelled to understand the dynamics.

As an autograph collector (never sold), I will buy the autos I need for my set if the prices allow. It’s the last time I’ll see them at that price. The flip side is many do buy to sell at a profit. Others did buy Chet Lemon yesterday about his health news, is that any better? I’m just explaining from my POV and totally get the other side.

[Bob63NJ]

Feel so sad for their families. I know Johnny had 2 young kids, and as mentioned before, they were in town for their sister's wedding. Utterly heart breaking. Suspected drunk driver drove on the shoulder to get around another car who had slowed to let the brothers go around. Until we through drunk drivers in jail automatically for a length of time, this will continue to happen. My brother was permanently disabled due to a drunk driver at 19 years old. So so sad.

[Melagoo]

So sad I heard on our news station this morning ... Rest in Paradise Johnny and Matthew ...

[senorlaverga]

It is a weird phenomenon that a young death makes collectors scramble for cards.