NHL Writer Publishes Disgusting Story About Johnny Gaudreau's Death Helping Blue Jackets Win Draft Lottery

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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were laid to rest less than a month ago after being killed by a drunk driver in New Jersey.  The tragedy shook not only everyone in the hockey world but the sports world in general. Well, everyone except NHL writer Frank Seravalli, it seems.

Seravalli, one of the most well-known hockey writers out there and president of the Professional Hockey Writer's Association, published his annual predictions for the upcoming NHL season on Monday afternoon. It was your regular run-of-the-mill preview piece until the Philadelphia native issued his prediction for the Blue Jackets.

"14. With a little help from Gaudreau, the Columbus Blue Jackets will win the 2025 Draft Lottery," Seravalli's original story read. "It's the only consolation prize on a brutal year, but hope and help is on the way. Bananas that the Blue Jackets have never won the Lottery."

Seravalli's piece was later updated, but not until after the hockey world took notice and shared screenshots of the original write-up.

Screenshots show that the first edit read "With a little help from above" before it was ultimately changed to "With a little help from Gaudreau in heaven."

I think most of us can agree that society has gotten way too sensitive about things, but that doesn't apply here, this is deplorable stuff from Seravalli.

His note about the Blue Jackets getting "help from Gaudreau" is terrible, but him likening the tragic death to a "consolation prize" is ludicrous as well.

Johnny Hockey: Johnny Gaudreau Was An Inspiration To An Entire Generation Before Tragic Death

The Gaudreau brothers were killed the night before their sister's wedding, wives became widows, and parents had to bury their children, and Seravalli tried to make light of the situation by saying ‘hey, at least the team will get the first-overall pick next year.’

‘Frank Seravalli’ is trending on Twitter at the time of this writing, and people are ruthlessly lighting him up.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.