Legendary Canucks broadcaster and former NHL goalie John Garrett dies at 74
Posted Apr 28, 2026 8:03 am.
Last Updated Apr 28, 2026 12:50 pm.
Former Vancouver Canucks analyst John Garrett has died. He was 74.
Garrett is remembered for his sharp observations, folksy style, and self-deprecating humour, which made him a beloved figure in Canucks Nation. His chemistry with genuine friends John Shorthouse and Dan Murphy made Canucks broadcasts entertaining, no matter what the team did on the ice.
His broadcasting career began on Hockey Night in Canada in 1986, where he worked as a colour commentator for more than a decade before moving to Sportsnet.
Garrett was a mainstay on Vancouver Canucks broadcasts for two decades.
To the great upset of fans, he retired as an analyst at the end of the 2022-2023 regular season.
His distinctive look and resemblance to Cheech Marin earned him the long-lasting nickname ‘Cheech.’
“We want to thank John for two decades worth of entertaining and engaging with Canucks fans on regional TV,” said Vancouver Canucks President, Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford at the time of Garrett’s retirement.
“Cheech has been a great ambassador for the hockey club, whether it was in goal as a player or in the broadcast booth as an announcer. His smart wit, sense of humour and an innate ability to break down the ins and outs of the game so effortlessly has made him a huge fan favourite. We wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
“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.”
As a player, he was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 1971. He spent several years playing for World Hockey Association (WHA) teams until he was traded to the New England Whalers (later the Hartford Whalers) during the team’s entry into the NHL.
He was initially acquired by Vancouver from the Quebec Nordiques in a mid-season trade on February 4, 1983. The former netminder then spent three seasons with the Canucks.
Appearing on Sportsnet 650’s Halford and Brough in the Morning, Shorthouse remembered his many years working with Garrett and his kindness in and out of the studio.
When asked to describe his beloved colleague in one word, Shorthouse said, “I think ‘teammate’ would encompass it perfectly.”
“And he wasn’t just our teammate, he was our captain. I saw him have two bad moments in his life: One… I think he was just hangry, which is a combination of hungry and angry. And the other was [when] he was advocating for me in the emergency room at the hospital in Philadelphia, when I was having a sudden emergency. And to see him go into ‘papa-bear’ mode on my behalf just sums him up. He’s probably the most thoroughly good person I’ll ever meet.”
Shorthouse, a puzzle fan but not a newspaper subscriber, says Garrett made a regular habit of sending him the Sunday Sudoku every week.
“It went on ’til two days ago, when he sent me the Sunday Sudoku from Salt Lake,” said Shorthouse.
“He was the man, and I will miss him greatly.”
—With files from Iain MacIntyre, Sportsnet.
