Hockey Fights Cancer

It was founded in 1998 as an outgrowth of a similar program instituted by the Tampa Bay Lightning after former player John Cullen made a brief NHL comeback after suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.[1] Tampa Bay Lightning forward John Cullen was leading his team in scoring late in the 1996–97 NHL season when he was forced out of the lineup after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.[3] In recognition of his comeback attempt, the NHL named him the 1999 winner of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for dedication and perseverance.[9] A Hockey Fights Cancer night in Pittsburgh on November 5, 2018 was especially memorable; cancer survivor Brian Boyle of the New Jersey Devils, who had been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in September 2017, scored his first NHL hat trick as the Devils defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1.[11] In addition, each of the league's 32 teams designates at least one of their home games as "Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Night/Day" to raise money.