From the outside, it’s hard to understand what Johnny Gaudreau meant to Columbus Blue Jackets fans, even in the two short seasons he spent there before he and his brother Matthew were struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver on Aug. 29 Columbus fans are used to their stars leaving: for more money, bigger cities, more competitive franchises. If Gaudreau shocked the rest of the world when he signed with the Blue Jackets, he didn’t shock the Colombians – he merely became one of them. He hugged her and they hugged him back. He wanted to be there. He will always be remembered because memories last longer than a lifetime.

Tuesday marked the home opener for the Blue Jackets, and the evening belonged to Gaudreau. The team unveiled a memorial to Gaudreau indoors with his used equipment and signs left by fans after his death, which will be there throughout the season. All players from the Blue Jackets and the visiting Panthers wore his number, 13, during warmups. A video package honoring his life was played on the Jumbotron. His wife, Meredith, and their two young children were invited onto the ice as Gaudreau’s banner was raised from the rafters.

And then it was time for hockey. In a video message, Meredith Gaudreau urged fans not to be sad about his death – good luck – but rather to be inspired by the life of her late husband. “When it’s time to drop the puck, let’s love the game that John loved,” she said.

The Blue Jackets took the first faceoff without a left winger on the ice and remained in that missing-man formation for 13 seconds as the crowd cheered and chanted “Johnny Hockey.”

Sean Monahan, one of Gaudreau’s best friends from their time together in Calgary, gave the Blue Jackets the lead in the second period and immediately pointed to Gaudreau’s banner.

Florida would win that game 4-3 — the Blue Jackets are still the Blue Jackets despite everything — but the game was secondary to the catharsis. Tears will be shed, but lives must be lived afterwards, and the franchise and the sport must move on, both worse for losing Gaudreau but ultimately better for having him in the first place.