David Kirouac-Imagn Images
NHL teams host a “Hockey Fights Cancer” night each season that used to involve players taking the ice in special warmup jerseys that were usually auctioned off to raise money for the cause. One Canadiens fan got their hands on the one Brendan Gallagher rocked in 2022 while paying tribute to his mom, and he’ll soon be reunited with it after she lost her battle with the disease.
In 1998, the NHL and NHLPA joined forces to launch the “Hockey Fights Cancer” initiative that has managed to raise more than $32 million while funneling those funds into The V Foundation for Cancer Research and other organizations that offer lodging, transportation, and other vital services and support systems for people and families impacted by the disease.
Prior to the start of the 2023 season, the NHL made the fairly asinine decision to ban all specialty warmup jerseys due to the drama stemming from a handful of players who revolted against Pride Night.
Before that point, teams who held their annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night usually donned custom sweaters with a purple color scheme during the pregame warmup in honor of the occasion, and many of those franchises subsequently auctioned them off to give fans the chance to add them to their collection and contribute some cash to an admirable cause in the process.
In 2022, Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher took to the ice in one of those jerseys and wrote “Mom” on the patch that gave players the chance to say who they were fighting on behalf of; at the time, his mother Della was engaged in a battle with brain cancer after being diagnosed the previous year.
On Thursday, Gallagher revealed she passed away earlier this month after defying the doctors who predicted she only had between six months and a year-and-a-half to live.
That news came to the attention of Lucie Lachance, a Canadiens fan who secured the aforementioned Hockey Fights cancer jersey and offered to give it back to Gallagher in a tweet she sent his way on Thursday night.
He took her up on the offer when he responded on Friday by inviting her to Montreal’s regular season finale against the Hurricanes on April 16th so they can swap jerseys on the ice after the game.
That is incredibly kind of you, thoughtful and really appreciated!! How about a jersey swap on the ice April 16th!
— Brendan Gallagher (@BGALLY17) March 21, 2025
You love to see it.