Chris Snow, Calgary Flames’ vice president of data and analytics, has died after a four year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Snow, 42, was diagnosed in 2019 with ALS, which is a progressive nervous system disease affecting brain cells and the spinal cord, and causes a loss of muscle control.
Chris’ wife Kelsie confirmed the death in a social media post Saturday.
Calgary Flames said in a press release Sunday that Snow is mourned by all of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, and the entire hockey community.
“Chris was our friend and he will be sadly missed,” the release said.
“We will never replace a person like Chris; we simply pay tribute to him by moving forward with the same passion that he brought to his life each day,” said Calgary Flames’ general manager Craig Conroy, quoted in the release.
Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska said in a recent blog post on the team’s website that Snow was one of his biggest supporters.
“When you talk about people looking at him as inspiration, I don’t know how you can’t. Never did he have a bad day, considering what he was going through. And he continued to do his job to the best of his ability every day,” he said.
Kelsie Snow said Wednesday on social media that her husband became unresponsive and suffered a heart attack on Tuesday.
She said paramedics and doctors were able to get his heart beating again, but he suffered a brain injury due to a lack of oxygen. She said his doctors do not expect him to wake up from the injury.
“My chest feels cracked open and hollowed out,” Kelsie Snow wrote. “Chris is the most beautiful, brilliant person I’ll ever know and doing life without him feels untenable.”
“Hug your people,” she said.
Chris and Kelsie Snow met when they were both sportswriters for The Boston Globe and were married in 2007. They have two children, Cohen and Willa.
Snow’s father, two uncles and a cousin also died of what’s also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Doctors originally told Snow he had one year to live following his diagnoses in 2019.
“He defiantly said no, willing himself to another four-and-a-half years of birthdays, holidays and indelible life moments before he was tragically taken from us on Saturday,” the Flames’ website post wrote.
Snow was a baseball writer when the NHL’s Minnesota Wild hired him as their director of hockey operations in 2006.
When the Wild made changes, the Flames brought Snow on board in 2011 as director of hockey analysis.
He was promoted to AGM in 2019 and worked primarily in data analysis.
“The Flames Assistant GM quite literally changed the world, creating a legacy that will live on far beyond the walls of the Scotiabank Saddledome,” the Flames’ post said.
–With files from The Canadian Press.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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