For other people named John Garrett, see John Garrett (disambiguation).
John Garrett
Garrett on a 1983 card
Born (1951-06-17)June 17, 1951
Trenton, Ontario, Canada
Died April 27, 2026(2026-04-27) (aged 74)
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for WHA
Minnesota Fighting Saints
Toronto Toros
Birmingham Bulls
New England Whalers
NHL
Hartford Whalers
Quebec Nordiques
Vancouver Canucks
NHL draft 38th overall, 1971
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1971–1985

John Murdoch Garrett (June 17, 1951 – April 27, 2026) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender and television sports commentator. He played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1979 and then in the National Hockey League from 1979 to 1985. After retiring from playing he turned to broadcasting.

Early life

John Murdoch Garrett was born on June 17, 1951, in Trenton, Ontario to a schoolteacher father and a stay-at-home mom. He grew up in a family of seven, struggling to afford hockey equipment. His mother cared for her father and her brother, who had been injured while serving in World War II and could not live on his own.[1]

Playing career

Garrett with the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA, circa 1973–76
1983 postcard of Garrett for the Quebec Nordiques

Originally selected in the 1971 NHL entry draft by the St. Louis Blues, Garrett played one year for the Blues' Central Hockey League affiliate before joining the Portland Buckaroos of the Western Hockey League for half a season and then moving on to the Richmond Robins of the American Hockey League. He signed with the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association in 1973–74. He would play with the Fighting Saints until the franchise folded on 25 February 1976. He then signed with the Toronto Toros, and would follow the Toros franchise when it relocated to Birmingham. In the final WHA season, Garrett was traded to the New England Whalers, and would remain with the franchise when it entered the NHL. He holds the record for the most losses by any goalie in WHA history. While playing for the Whalers, Garrett notably assisted on Gordie Howe's final goal, but went uncredited by the NHL for decades before the NHL retroactively awarded Garrett with the assist in 2025 after reviewing footage of the goal.[2][3] Ron MacLean officially confirmed the NHL's addition of the assist during the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.[4] Garrett would also play for the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks of the NHL before retiring at the start of the 85-86 season. Garrett, at 5'8", was involved with Hall of Famer, 6'4" Mario Lemieux's first statistic as an NHLer, by being the third man in on a fight between him and 5'9" Gary Lupul in Lemieux's rookie season.[5]

Garrett was involved in one of the oddest scenarios in the history of the NHL All-Star Game. Replacing an injured Richard Brodeur, the Vancouver Canucks' only representative at the All-Star Game that year, Garrett was voted the game's MVP before the end of the game. After Wayne Gretzky scored four times, a re-vote was held and Gretzky was named the All-Star Game MVP.[6]

Broadcasting career

Garrett's first broadcasting job was as an intermission analyst during the Stanley Cup playoffs while he was an active player. The Hartford Whalers had missed the playoffs and he was approached by CTV to work with Pat Burns on their playoff coverage.[1] Garrett retired before the 1985–86 season. He had been offered the position of assistant general manager by Canucks' GM Harry Neale, but Neale was fired and the offer subsequently withdrawn.[7] Garrett then began his broadcasting career in 1986–87. He worked as a colour commentator on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. Within a few years, he was considered a valuable member of the team and was assigned his first conference final in 1991 — his first of eight in a row. During that time, he was also the lead colour commentator on Edmonton Oilers local telecasts, working along with Bruce Buchanan. He left CBC in 1998 to join the fledgling CTV Sportsnet (now Rogers Sportsnet). He worked as a studio analyst on national broadcasts, as well as the colour commentator for the Calgary Flames games on Sportsnet West. During the 1994–95 NHL Lockout, he briefly worked for United Parcel Service of Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Beginning with the 2002–03 season, Garrett served as the colour commentator for Canucks games on Sportsnet Pacific, first being partnered with Jim Hughson and later John Shorthouse. He also had occasional network assignments on HNIC and, since Rogers acquired the Canadian national contract for the NHL in 2014, he sometimes got network assignments on either Sportsnet or City.

On March 23, 2023, Garrett announced his retirement from Canucks regional broadcasts at the conclusion of the 2022–23 NHL season. He planned to continue on Sportsnet's NHL coverage in a part-time capacity.[8][9]

Nicknames

After the 1984-85 season, Garrett earned the nickname "Lotto" because his high goals-against average of 6.49 was the same as Canada's national lottery, Lotto 6/49.[10]

Garrett picked up his "Cheech" nickname from teammate Rick Smith in the mid-seventies because his afro haircut and moustache resembled Cheech Marin from comedy duo Cheech and Chong.[11]

Personal life and death

Garrett was known throughout his broadcasting career for his obsession with ketchup.[12] He credited his love for the sauce to his childhood, where his family was often unable to afford good food, but ketchup was "the sauce that made everything taste good."[1]

On April 27, 2026, Garrett was found dead in his hotel room in Salt Lake City, Utah at the age of 74.[13][14] At the time of his death, he had been working as an analyst with Sportsnet for the Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights' first round matchup in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1969–70 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 48 — — — 2850 142 3 2.99 — 6 2 4 0 360 21 0 3.50 —
1969–70 Montreal Jr. Canadiens MC — — — — — — — — — 9 7 1 — 371 19 0 3.07 —
1970–71 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 51 — — — 3062 151 5 2.96 — 5 0 3 2 298 22 0 4.43 —
1971–72 Kansas City Blues CHL 35 13 14 7 2041 121 3 3.55 — — — — — — — — — —
1972–73 Portland Buckaroos WHL 17 6 8 2 951 52 2 3.28 .899 — — — — — — — — —
1972–73 Richmond Robins AHL 37 — — — 2138 117 0 3.26 — 3 0 3 — 123 17 0 8.29 —
1973–74 Minnesota Fighting Saints WHA 40 21 18 0 2290 137 1 3.59 .903 7 4 2 — 372 25 0 4.03 .902
1974–75 Minnesota Fighting Saints WHA 58 30 23 2 3294 180 2 3.28 .905 12 6 6 — 726 41 1 3.39 .899
1975–76 Minnesota Fighting Saints WHA 52 26 22 4 3179 177 2 3.34 .898 — — — — — — — — —
1975–76 Toronto Toros WHA 9 3 6 0 551 33 1 3.59 .905 — — — — — — — — —
1976–77 Birmingham Bulls WHA 65 24 34 4 3803 224 4 3.53 .899 — — — — — — — — —
1977–78 Birmingham Bulls WHA 58 24 31 1 3306 210 2 3.81 .877 5 1 4 — 271 26 0 5.76 —
1978–79 New England Whalers WHA 41 20 17 4 2496 149 2 3.58 .874 8 4 3 — 447 32 0 4.30 —
1979–80 Hartford Whalers NHL 52 16 24 11 3046 202 0 3.98 .865 1 0 1 — 60 8 0 8.00 .800
1980–81 Hartford Whalers NHL 54 15 27 12 3152 241 0 4.59 .870 — — — — — — — — —
1981–82 Hartford Whalers NHL 16 5 6 4 898 63 0 4.21 .872 — — — — — — — — —
1981–82 Quebec Nordiques NHL 12 4 5 3 720 62 0 5.17 .837 5 3 2 — 323 21 0 3.90 .866
1982–83 Quebec Nordiques NHL 17 6 8 2 953 64 0 4.03 .874 — — — — — — — — —
1982–83 Vancouver Canucks NHL 17 7 6 3 934 48 1 3.08 .905 1 1 0 — 60 4 0 4.00 .867
1983–84 Vancouver Canucks NHL 29 14 10 2 1653 113 0 4.10 .851 2 0 0 — 18 0 0 0.00 1.000
1984–85 Vancouver Canucks NHL 10 1 5 0 407 44 0 6.49 .819 — — — — — — — — —
1985–86 Fredericton Express AHL 3 2 1 0 179 9 0 3.02 .894 — — — — — — — — —
WHA totals 323 148 151 15 18,919 1110 14 3.52 .894 32 15 15 — 1816 124 1 4.10 —
NHL totals 207 68 91 37 11,763 837 1 4.27 .866 9 4 3 — 461 33 0 4.30 .858

"Garrett's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-09-22.

References

  1. ^ a b c Kuzma, Ben (November 21, 2022). "Canucks Q&A: John Garrett's ketchup connection was rooted in 'making food stretch'". The Province. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  2. ^ Larsen, Karen (June 10, 2025). "45 years later, NHL awards John Garrett 2nd assist on historic Gordie Howe goal". CBC.ca. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  3. ^ Fox, Luke. "Cheech deserves piece of Howe's last goal". Sportsnet. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  4. ^ Wagner, Daniel (7 June 2025). "Former Canuck John Garrett finally gets credit for assist on Gordie Howe's last goal". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  5. ^ Eide, Andrew. "NHL Fights: 15 Great Fights Featuring Non-Fighters". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
  6. ^ MacIntyre, Iain (January 27, 2017). "One-game Canuck 'Cheech' Garrett's all-star game nod nearly an MVP turn". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  7. ^ Reid, Ken (2014). Hockey Card Stories: True Tales from Your Favourite Players. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-77041-197-5.
  8. ^ Elliotte Friedman [@FriedgeHNIC] (March 23, 2023). "I am in shock as John Garrett announces this will be his last season doing Canuck regional games. Honestly, I love watching this broadcast crew" (Tweet). Retrieved March 24, 2023 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "John Garrett announces this will be his last season in Canucks broadcast booth". Sportsnet. March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Hornby, Lance (April 28, 2026). "NHL and broadcast world mourn sudden death of goaltender‑turned-analyst John Garrett". The Intelligencer. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  11. ^ "Sportsnet analyst John Garrett passes away". Sportsnet.ca. The Canadian Press. April 28, 2026. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  12. ^ Kierszenblat, Adam (April 16, 2024). "Former Canucks Colour Commentator John Garrett Discusses His Retirement And Vancouver's Historic Season". The Hockey News. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  13. ^ MacIntyre, Iain (April 28, 2026). "'A delightful human': John Garrett was one of a kind". Sportsnet. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  14. ^ "John Garrett, former NHL goaltender and longtime Canucks broadcaster, dead at 74". TimesColonist.com. Times Colonist. The Canadian Press. April 28, 2026. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  15. ^ "Longtime HNIC, Canucks broadcaster Garrett passes away at 74". TSN.ca. April 28, 2026. Retrieved April 28, 2026.