John Garrett, a longtime Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada colour commentator and a former NHL goalie, has passed away.
After his playing career ended in 1985, Garrett entered the world of broadcasting with Hockey Night in Canada.
After more than two decades as the colour commentator on Canucks telecasts, Garrett stepped away from the role in 2023-24 while continuing his work on national telecasts.
He joined the original Sportsnet team as an analyst in 1998.
A native of Trenton, Ont., Garrett played 207 career NHL games with the Canucks, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers, along with 323 career WHA games.
“The National Hockey League family is stunned and saddened by the sudden passing of John Garrett, whose astute analysis took fans – particularly in Western Canada – inside our game for the last four decades,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
“Following a 13-season career as a goaltender in the WHA and the NHL, Garrett moved into the broadcast booth in 1986 and never left, contributing his encyclopedic knowledge and expert insight to national broadcasts on Sportsnet and local broadcasts for the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and, for two decades, the Vancouver Canucks.
“On a personal note, I always enjoyed catching up with John when our travels around the League intersected – as they did one last time on Friday night in Utah, when he broadcast the Mammoth’s first ever home playoff game. We send our deepest condolences to his family, his friends around the game and his many fans.”
Here are some other tributes to Garrett from around the hockey world: