Columbus Blue Jackets and NHLPA to offer grief councillors for players, coaches & staff

As the news of the tragic passing of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau grips the entire hockey community, The Columbus Blue Jackets and the NHLPA have made grief councillors available for any player, coach or staffer who feels that it's important and necessary to talk about the unimaginable loss of the pair.

While grief councillors are often available after many tragedies, the scale in which the loss of Johnny and Matthew has already been felt worldwide by dozens of individuals. For the Blue Jackets and the NHLPA to offer these services it shows that collectively they care about the Columbus players as well as the coaches and staff of the team.

Grief occurs within all of us at different times and comes in waves. While we may never comprehend fully the events which took the lives of Johnny and Matthew it's important to recognize that there is support out there available for many of us who are dealing with life's troubles in the forms of councillors, therapists and the like.

Grief is not linear and there is nobody who can tell you otherwise. While the tragic events that the Gaudreau family as well as so many others are dealing with are fresh it's important as a community, we band together to support each other.