Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy appeared to wipe tears from his eyes while discussing the tragic news that assistant general manager Chris Snow suffered a “catastrophic brain injury” after going into cardiac arrest on Tuesday.
It came prior to the news that medical tests showed Snow, who is on life support, will not wake up, according to the latest update provided by his wife, Kelsie on Thursday.
“Our good friend Chris Snow had a medical emergency [on Tuesday] and he’s been battling ALS for five years and he’s in another battle right now,” Conroy said during a press conference with Flames team captain Mikael Backlund on Wednesday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chris, Kelsie, [and their children] Cohen and Willa.
“I’ve never heard him complain once about this through this five years and it just doesn’t seem right not to have Snowy here with me,” Conroy said, adding that he brought Cohen to Wednesday’s preseason game, a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets.
“Little Snowy is here and that means more than you know. Thanks Cohen for coming today,” Conroy, who was visibly emotional, said.
He then put his head down and paused to wipe his eyes.
Kelsie Snow has been sharing updates about Chris’ condition on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
“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 lack of oxygen,” she wrote Wednesday. “His doctors do not expect him to wake up from this.”
“My chest feels cracked open and hollowed out.
“Chris is the most beautiful, brilliant person I’ll ever know, and doing life without him feels untenable. Hug your people,” she concluded.
On Thursday morning, she said test results the day prior confirmed that the 42-year-old NHL exec will not wake up after suffering cardiac arrest.
“In life, Chris offered his body to a clinical trial to help others,” Kelsie wrote. “In death he will do the same. He remains on life support while organ donation is arranged. We are so proud of him.”
Snow suffered cardiac arrest “two days after walking into a hockey rink to watch his son play a game,” according to a GoFundMe page, which Kelsie reposted on X.
Chris Snow was diagnosed with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, in 2019, according to The Globe and Mail.
Upon his diagnosis, Snow was initially given 18 months to live, according to the Flames’ website.
His father, two uncles and a cousin died from ALS, the bio reads for #weaksidestrong, a challenge created by Snow and Kelsie to help find a cure for ALS.
The couple met while working as sportswriters for The Boston Globe, and went on to tie the knot in 2007, according to TSN.
Snow — who joined the Flames as the director of hockey analysis in 2011 — continued to work with the team after his diagnosis.
He was named assistant general manager in September 2019, three months after he was diagnosed.
Former Flames GM Brad Treliving, now with the Toronto Maple Leafs, reportedly flew to Calgary on Wednesday to be with Snow and his family.
Snow previously served as the director of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild from 2006 to 2010.
