Calgary Flames assistant general manager Chris Snow with his wife Kelsie at their community arena in Calgary in March 2021.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
Chris Snow had planned a big party for Sunday to celebrate his wife Kelsie’s 40th birthday.
“He was so excited, telling me, ‘I can’t wait to celebrate you the way you deserve to be celebrated,’ ‘’ she said in a post early in the day on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Today I woke up to a world without him.”
Snow, the vice-president and assistant general manager of the Calgary Flames, died Saturday after a long and very public battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He had been hospitalized and kept on life support since Tuesday, when he suffered a cardiac arrest and sustained a catastrophic brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen.
At the time of his death, he was 42. His heart, kidneys and liver were harvested so they could be donated. He was diagnosed with ALS in June, 2019, a fatal neurological disease that also claimed the lives of his father, two uncles and one cousin.
“We are deeply broken and deeply proud,” Kelsie Snow wrote. “In life and in death, Chris never stopped giving. We walk forward with his light guiding us.”
A former baseball writer for The Boston Globe, Snow joined the Flames in 2011 as director of video and statistical analysis and in 2019 was promoted to assistant general manager. Most recently he received the title of vice-president in charge of data and analytics, while also retaining the position of assistant GM.
For eight years, he worked under general manager Brad Treliving, who now holds the same job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Treliving flew from Toronto to Calgary to be with Chris and Kelsie one day last week and will give a eulogy at his funeral. Those details have yet to be announced.
“I am devastated with the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Chris Snow,” Treliving said late Saturday in a statement released by the Maple Leafs. “He was a true example of strength, courage, grit and compassion.
“Beyond being an exceptional colleague, he was a cherished friend who deeply impacted our lives. His intellect was matched only by his incredible kindness, thoughtfulness and unwavering love and devotion to his family and friends.
“Chris inspired us all as he faced the relentless battle with ALS head-on, refusing to let it define him or derail his spirit.”
When he was diagnosed, Snow was told that he possibly had less than a year to live. Within a few weeks, however, he began to receive a drug as part of a clinical trial and it arrested the progression of his illness for nine months and greatly elongated his life.
The couple took to Twitter to talk about his illness shortly after his diagnosis. In December, 2019, his wife began to document their life with ALS on her blog, Kelsie Snow Writes. Then she started a podcast called Sorry, I’m Sad.
The couple also did considerable fundraising for people with ALS, and were invited to give a presentation during the 2022 NHL awards in Nashville.
“Chris epitomized everything we hold dear in hockey … courage, commitment, resilience and selflessness,” the Flames’ provincial rival in Edmonton wrote on Sunday. “His tireless efforts to educate and make a meaningful difference around ALS treatment and support, while at the same time dealing with this horrible disease daily will undoubtedly make a difference in the lives of others. Chris upheld his role with the Flames to a prideful standard, as well as being a devoted father and should be profoundly inspirational to all of us.”
More recently, he had suffered setbacks. In October of 2022 he worked from his hospital bed in Calgary. He had been hospitalized seven times in 14 months before last December, when he was hospitalized for two weeks and placed on life support twice but then rallied.
“Chris taught us all so much by how he confronted ALS with grace, positivity, and hope,” Craig Conroy, the Calgary general manager, said late Saturday. “He never complained or ever showed us that he had a bad day, and while there may have been many, he continued to perform his job to a very high standard.
“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.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also recognized Snow after his death was announced, calling him a “remarkable man.”
“The Snows’ willingness to share the trials and triumphs of Chris’s lengthy ALS journey has inspired so many and profoundly increased awareness of the need to find a cure for this debilitating disease,” Bettman said in a statement.
The couple were married nearly 16 years. When they met, Chris was a journalist who covered the Red Sox, and Kelsie was an intern in the Boston Globe’s sports department. He was 23; she was 21.
She loved his eyes and luminous smile. They have two children, Cohen, who is 12 and Willa who turned nine last week.