NHL Insider Frank Seravalli addresses controversy surrounding his comments on Johnny Gaudreau

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Tom Banks
October 7, 2024 (4:54 PM)

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Early on Monday, Frank Seravalli released an article with dreadful comments about Johnny Gaudreau, and now he has addressed the well deserved backlash.

The passing of Johnny Gaudreau was a tough one for the entire NHL and sporting world over the summer, and thankfully, his memory has been treated with respect universally over the past few months. With the new season quickly approaching, there are plans in place to continue paying tribute to Johnny Hockey, who was one of the most beloved and respected players in the NHL throughout his tenure with the Calgary Flames and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Unfortunately, not everyone has spoken with the necessary reverence about Gaudreau, with Insider Frank Seravalli facing backlash for the comments he made about Gaudreau during his season preview article. During that article, Seravalli made some disgusting comments about how his passing would positively effect the team's chance of winning the lottery. It was later amended, but that didn't make it any better, with droves of fans calling him out on X in the hours since it was posted.

Now, the NHL Insider has addressed the situation, offering an apology after facing plenty of well deserved criticism.

Earlier today, in an annual season predictions column, I picked the Columbus Blue Jackets to win the Draft Lottery and included commentary about Johnny Gaudreau looking down on them from heaven for good luck.

What I wrote and how my poor choice of words was received was not intended to create any hurt or anger. Especially as a member of the Philly hockey community, I've been absolutely gutted by John and Matty's passing - like so many around the hockey world. This tragedy is a difficult topic we're all grappling with and what I wrote was never intended to add to that. Simply put, I should not have tied the two together. I am sorry and I promise to be better.

On one hand, it's easy to say that someone made a mistake and potentially had their words misinterpreted, but Seravalli edited the article several times to make it better, with each time his words appearing worse and worse. Ultimately, it's unlikely that he'll face any true consequences for his words, but given his history as a writer, it's not a good look in the slightest.