John Garrett Was One of a Kind, and Hockey Lost a Captain Monday

The hockey world lost someone irreplaceable Monday afternoon. John Garrett, the legendary Vancouver Canucks television analyst, was found lifeless in his hotel room in Salt Lake City, where he had been working the first-round NHL playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights.

Garrett was more than just a voice on broadcasts. He was a former NHL goalie, a Hockey Night in Canada stalwart, and for decades, the beloved analyst on Vancouver Canucks television. But to those who worked closest with him, he was something even more important: a captain. A perfect teammate. A delightful human.

The Kind of Guy Who Would Drop Everything

Play-by-play announcer John Shorthouse worked alongside Garrett for years and remembers something remarkable about him: in all that time, Shorthouse witnessed exactly two moments when Garrett lost his temper.

The first came in Columbus when the tired and hungry Sportsnet crew had to wait an eternity for a restaurant table after a game. Then they waited forever for the server, who finally appeared only to inform them the kitchen was closed. Garrett's complaint lasted less than a minute.

The second time was different. Shorthouse was in an emergency room in Philadelphia, in really bad shape, not getting the attention he needed. Garrett finally lost it. "He went full Papa Bear on the staff in order to get me treated," Shorthouse recalled Tuesday. "I'll never forget that."

A Perfect Teammate

That moment in Philadelphia, Shorthouse said, told you everything you needed to know about John Garrett. It spoke to his "unfailing and unshakeable capacity to be the perfect teammate."

"And he wasn't just our teammate," Shorthouse added, "he was our captain."

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.