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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Melagoo]

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

[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.

[senorlaverga]

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

[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.

[brettmik59]

The frantic buying does not make any sense to me. I can understand maybe scooping up some really cheap autos knowing that there won't be any more. But sadly he's unable to have a back half of a career, and people will forget as time fades. That said, if there are willing buyers and sellers I don't see anything wrong with transacting in his cards in a free market. The sellers will do well here in the long run.

[Rbradleigh]

Horrible, let the facts play out but if struck down by a DUI then let the full extent of the law be exercised.

[stoopid]

Originally Posted by brettmik59

The frantic buying does not make any sense to me. I can understand maybe scooping up some really cheap autos knowing that there won't be any more. But sadly he's unable to have a back half of a career, and people will forget as time fades. That said, if there are willing buyers and sellers I don't see anything wrong with transacting in his cards in a free market. The sellers will do well here in the long run.

This is my takeaway as well. Especially the part about penalizing sellers for seemingly no good reason. I have one Gaudreau card, a PMG, that's been listed on eBay (BIN) since early July. I'm wondering what sort of hate messages I'm going to be getting in the coming days. Thankfully it's a buy it now that requires immediate payment so irrational cretins can't mess with an auction outcome.

[LCM1223]

Originally Posted by senorlaverga

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

It’s not just young death. It’s any death of an athlete.