Former New York Islanders winger and TVA hockey analyst Mike Bossy is battling lung cancer.
He announced the news in a letter to TVA Sports Tuesday.
“It is with a lot of sadness that I need to step away from your screens, for a necessary pause. During this break I’ll be receiving treatment for lung cancer. [The score is] 1-0 so far, but I haven’t said my last word,” Bossy wrote.
“I intend to fight with all the determination and fire you’ve seen me show on the ice.”
Referring to viewers, he added: “You’ll never be far away in my mind. To the contrary, you’ll have a choice seat and be a part of what motivates me to get better.
“Like all athletes who prepare for the biggest performance of their lives, I’ll need all of my strength and all my concentration.”
Bossy, 64, helped the Islanders win 4 straight Stanley Cup, starting in 1980.
The Montreal native tallied 573 goals and 1,126 points over 10 seasons.
Bossy won the Calder trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 1987 and the Conn Smythe as the league’s MVP in 1982. He was also awarded the Lady Byng trophy for sportsmanship in 1983, ’84 and ’86.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.