Calgary Flames assistant general manager Chris Snow, who had battled ALS since 2019, has died after suffering a brain injury earlier this week and going into cardiac arrest.
Kelsie Snow, Chris’ wife, shared the news of both his cardiac arrest on Wednesday and the confirmation that he would not be able to recover from his current state on Thursday. She shared the news of his passing on Saturday with this message:
“Today we hugged Chris for the last time and said goodbye as he went to give four people the gift of life by donating his kidneys, liver and lungs,” Kelsie Snow wrote. “We are deeply broken and deeply proud. In life and in death, Chris never stopped giving. We walk forward with his light guiding us.”
Chris Snow was 42. He joined the Flames as the club’s director of hockey analysis in 2011 and worked his way up to being named assistant GM in September 2019, three months after he was diagnosed with ALS.
Snow was originally expected to live no more than a year with ALS, but he managed to persevere for more than four years after receiving his diagnosis. Over the summer, the Flames expanded Snow’s title to include vice president of data analytics.
The hockey world has embraced the Snows over the past four years with the #SnowyStrong social media campaign, with Chris himself sharing numerous videos of him performing impressive physical feats in spite of his disease.
Kelsie Snow’s original message on Wednesday read as follows:
“With a shattered heart I’ve come to share that [Tuesday] Chris became unresponsive and went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics and doctors were able to get his heart beating again but, devastatingly, a scan showed Chris has suffered a catastrophic brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen. His doctors do not expect him to wake up from this. My chest feels cracked open and hollowed out. Chris is the most brilliant, beautiful person I’ll ever know and doing life without him feels untenable. Hug your people.”
A fundraiser with a $100,000 USD goal has been established to support the Snow family, which has remained public about the highs and lows of its journey since Chris’ diagnosis.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also released the following statement regarding the passing of Chris Snow.
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