Tony Granato talks cancer battle on NHL on TNT, describes his bald haircut as ‘The Panger’

One of the most prominent American hockey figures over the last four-plus decades has been Tony Granato. Granato has found remarkable success as a NHL player (1988-2001), NCAA and NHL coach (2002-2023, including time as an assistant coach), international player (1983-1991) and coach (head coach in 2018) for Team USA, and NHL broadcaster (several times over the years, including since 2023 with NBC Sports Chicago and NHL Network).

Granato was on the NHL on TNT Face Off studio show Sunday around their Hockey Day In America doubleheader broadcast of the New Jersey Devils-Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers clashes. There, he first talked about his family (including brother Don, a former NHL player who’s currently the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres, and sister Cammi, a 2010 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee), but also went into some discussion of his cancer (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma) treatment and how that’s led to him adopting a bald look similar to NHL on TNT analyst Darren Pang:

The @NHL_On_TNT has famed figure Tony Granato joining them in studio on a special Hockey Day In America broadcast today. Here's his intro earlier, complete with discussion of his family and his return to broadcasting after a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. pic.twitter.com/Cfw8E7w0ta

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 25, 2024

Granato then went into more details on the chemotherapy he’s gone through and how he’s doing, and also discussed how his family grew up with hockey and how the 1980 “Miracle On Ice” inspired them:

Here’s Tony Granato talking about his chemotherapy treatments and how his family grew up with hockey, and how they got particularly into USA Hockey around “The Miracle On Ice.” pic.twitter.com/gLyZyH5M8I

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 25, 2024

“I feel good. I hate to downplay chemo, because chemo is chemo, and it knocks you down pretty darn good. I’ve been fortunate with the side effects, with the obvious [pointing to his lack of hair], there are others. But for the most part, once you get through the chemo, you just kind of build yourself back up between the chemo weeks, and today, I feel great.”

It’s certainly positive to hear that Granato is doing well despite these challenges. Some of that was seen with him already returning to NBC Sports Chicago Blackhawks broadcasts last month, but it’s good to see him discussing his progress on a national stage. We send all our best to him and his family and friends as he continues this battle with cancer.

[Awful Announcing on Twitter]