Lanny McDonald brings the Stanley Cup to the Calgary police officer who helped save a life

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CALGARY — Former Calgary Flames co-captain and Hockey Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald surprised a city police officer who saved his life earlier this year by paying him a visit with the Stanley Cup behind him.

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Const. Jose Cives performed chest compressions on McDonald at the Calgary airport in early February after the 71-year-old collapsed while returning from the NHL All-Star Game in Toronto.

Cives didn’t know McDonald, who played with the team during its 1989 Stanley Cup run, was coming to a Calgary Police Rodeo Association fundraiser on Friday, nor did he know McDonald would be accompanied by his former teammates . Tim Hunter, Colin Patterson and Rick Wamsley.

In a video posted online by the Calgary Flames, Cives says he got a radio call in February saying a man had collapsed, prompting him to run to the scene. He performed chest compressions and used an automated external defibrillator on McDonald until EMS arrived.

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Cives and McDonald now go for coffee and laugh these days, with Cives saying they get along “brilliantly”.

McDonald calls Cives, who is listed as the director of the rodeo association, a “local hero” in the video and says it was “extremely special” to bring the Stanley Cup to him and his fellow officers.

“We gave them a few items to bid on, but to be able to surprise them, be here, knowing that they’re making such a difference in the community, it’s so rewarding and what a great way to thank Jose,” McDonald said in video.

The Flames legend also thanked “two beautiful nurses” who he said also jumped in to save his life.

Cives said he was told he was working at the McDonald’s for ten minutes before emergency personnel took over.

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“There were a lot of times when I thought Lanny wasn’t going to make it, but I wasn’t going to stop until I got some kind of result,” Cives said of that day at the airport.

“Not a day goes by that he doesn’t remind me that I’m the man who broke him – his ribs, his sternum – but on the flip side, he’s always telling me he’s forever grateful that I was one. of the people who saved his life.”

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McDonald, originally from Hanna, Alta., was released from Foothills Medical Center in Calgary two weeks after his cardiac event.

Friday’s fundraiser also raised money for the Missing Children’s Society of Canada.

“We’re all teammates, but they have a different kind of challenge for their teammates and it’s great to be able to support them here tonight,” McDonald said.

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