Former NHLer and current Wild assistant GM Kurvers diagnosed with lung cancer

Oh no… thoughts and prayers to the former blueliner.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Former NHLer and current Wild assistant GM Kurvers diagnosed with lung cancer

For over a decade Tom Kurvers patrolled the blue line in the NHL, putting up an impressive 421 points in 659 career games. The Minneapolis, MN native was an offensive defenseman capable of putting up 50-60 points per season when healthy… but health was always an issue for Kurvers. He never once played a full NHL season without encountering a health issue, but now the 56 year old is facing the biggest health scare of his life.

Kurvers has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

In his latest article for The Athletic, Minnesota Wild insider Michael Russo sits down one on one with Kurvers to discuss his diagnosis, how he’s coping and how it affects his day to day responsibilities as the assistant general manager with the Wild.



It’s a heart wrenching read full of quotes that hit you like a punch in the gut.

“I have too many things going on in my head right now,” the Wild’s assistant general manager said, his voice shaking. “I can’t keep up with medical information, and I’ve got a phone full of loving and caring notes from friends and hockey people. It’s going to take me a month to get back to everyone. Anybody that’s ever talked about the hockey community has undersold it by a mile because this is living proof of how overwhelming it is to the good and how they rally around their own.
“But,” Kurvers, struggling to get the words out, added … with a touch of guilt, “I don’t have the time and energy to talk to everybody I’d like to talk to. I just can’t. You run out of fuel … and you run out of tears.”

The married father of four was completely blindsided by the news. He’s in terrific shape. He eats well, exercises and has never smoked. Lung cancer? It just doesn’t add up…

Still, he’s resigned himself to the news and has resolved to fight.

“I was chosen for the fight.”
“So,” he says, with a smile, “I’m going to fight. I’m living with cancer now.”

So far, the fight is going well. He’s managed to stave off chemotherapy by getting some luck with pharmaceuticals. 

“There was a five-percent chance to match this targeted therapy drug, and we hit it, we nailed it,” Kurvers said. “It’s a far more aggressive cancer killer with far less side effects than chemotherapy, so it was a gigantic win. It was so overwhelming when I found out, I was mentally wiped out.”

Since his retirement in the late 90s Kurvers has worked as an executive for the Wild, the Arizona Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s a hockey lifer and intends on living that life to the fullest. 

“Everybody has a story,” Kurvers said. “This is now part of my story. I hope it’s a happy ending. I plan on it being so.”