Former Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen and his two children, Ty and Faith, are feeling the NHL’s embrace following his wife Hannah’s death after a lengthy battle with cancer.
News of Hannah Larsen’s passing was revealed publicly by former Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella, who passed along his condolences to his one-time assistant in Columbus and the Larsen family March 12 during an appearance as an ESPN studio analyst. Larsen has battled cancer twice himself, and Hannah played a key role in supporting him each time.
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The Blue Jackets, the team Larsen spent almost a decade working for as a coach, issued a statement March 13 through social media offering the club’s “deepest condolences” and “warmest thoughts.”
During his time with the Blue Jackets, Larsen coached the team’s AHL affiliate as assistant and head coach when it was located in Springfield, Massachusetts, before joining former coach Brad Richards’ staff in 2014-15. Tortorella kept him on staff for six seasons before leaving the Blue Jackets under mutual terms that paved the way for Larsen to replace him as head coach.
Larsen spent two difficult seasons running the bench in Columbus amid a spate of injuries that led to his firing at the end of the 2022-23 season.
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Larsen and his family stayed in the Columbus area, and the former NHL coach took a year off from his professional career to work with his son Ty’s youth team.
He was hired by the Calgary Flames on June 11, 2024, to restart his career as an NHL assistant, but took an indefinite leave of absence Dec. 8, 2024, to rejoin his family and care for his wife after her condition worsened.
After news of Hannah Larsen’s passing was disclosed, condolences from many in hockey were posted on social media, including former Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent, who worked closely with Larsen as an assistant and replaced him for the 2023-24 season.
Vincent is now in his second season as head coach for the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, Laval Rocket.
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“Yesterday, we received the terribly sad news of the passing of Hannah, wife of my friend Brad Larsen, after a long battle,” he said. “My heart is broken for Brad, their two children, and all of Hannah’s family. Sending them all my love and deepest condolences.”
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets, NHL embrace Brad Larsen after wife’s death
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