Maharaj back coaching, scouting for Ducks after surviving battle with pancreatic cancer

The hardest part of Sudarshan "Sudsie" Maharaj's battle with pancreatic cancer was not surgery to remove his gallbladder and parts of his small intestines, pancreas and stomach.

Nor was it enduring 11 rounds of chemotherapy, each a week-long process that at various points put him back in the hospital with blood clots in his lungs and a racing heartbeat.

Maharaj, the Anaheim Ducks director of goaltending, said the hardest parts were telling his two daughters about a diagnosis that came with survival rate between 20 and 40 percent, and when things didn’t look good during a year-long fight, planning his own funeral, which included asking goalies from a 17-season NHL coaching career to be his pallbearers.

"Sitting my wife [Yvonne] and daughters [Alexandra, 22, and Katherine, 19] to plan my funeral with them was extremely difficult," Maharaj said, his voice breaking with emotion. "Calling some of my former goalies to be my pallbearers was a difficult call to make too. I was going to have an all-star team carrying me out. I called Ryan Miller and Kevin Weekes and John Gibson and they were going to be three of my pallbearers. The fact they all stood up and were willing to do it was a great feeling."

Being able to tell them their services would not be required was an even better feeling.

On May 6, nearly one year after struggling to believe the initial diagnosis, Maharaj told a room full of family and friends that his oncologist had declared him cancer free.

"I am so happy the world has Sudsie," said Miller, who spent the final four seasons of his 18-season NHL career with Maharaj in Anaheim. "He gives a lot to people around him just by being himself. He has a beautiful family and they deserve to have him."

It wasn't always clear they would.

After surgery and another six rounds of chemotherapy that Maharaj said went a lot better than the first five, he was down to 125 pounds.

"I've been moved to tears a couple times discussing Sudsie and what he's gone through," said Weekes, who worked privately with Maharaj in Toronto throughout his 11-season NHL career before retiring in 2009 to become a broadcaster. "The world, the game and the hockey world are all a better place with people like Sudsie Maharaj. I'm grateful to know him and grateful to have been connected with him as long as I have, and thankfully that connection continues on with his recovery, which is great. We're all better for it."

The annual Hockey Fights Cancer campaign is a joint initiative with the NHL Players' Association that has raised more than $32 million since its inception 27 years ago, as well as raising awareness and supporting those affected by cancer.

The 61-year-old was promoted from his previous job as goaltending coach into the new role as director of goaltending on July 10, and in August was scouting under-18 goalies at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton. He was on the ice for goalie skates at training camp with new Anaheim goaltending coach Peter Budaj and Jeff Glass, the Ducks' American Hockey League and goaltending development coach.

"It's been fantastic to still get the opportunity to get out on the ice and at least get a little bit of time to get the blades wet," Maharaj said. "I circulate between Anaheim, San Diego (AHL), Tulsa (ECHL), as well as scouting, so it's a giant circle that keeps widening."

It's a circle that spans the globe for Maharaj.

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, he and his family moved to Canada when he was 6, which led to a love for the sport of hockey and the position of goalie, and a playing career that included a Canadian university championship at York University in 1985 followed by six pro seasons in Sweden. He returned to the Toronto area and to university to become a teacher, starting his new career in Grade 4 before transitioning into a role helping students with behavioral issues.

Along the way, Maharaj started coaching goalies, first at the university while completing his schooling, then with junior teams around Toronto. Then in 2003 he was hired as the New York Islanders goaltending coach. He also spent time working for Hockey Canada on a national development plan, and as a consultant with the Islanders and their AHL affiliate before joining the Ducks in 2013, first with their AHL teams and then in the NHL in 2016. Add in a consulting role with for the Korean national hockey team in preparation for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, and Maharaj’s coaching reach becomes hard to measure.

He was reminded of his impact not long after his diagnosis became public as NHL goalies past and present continued to check in with text messages and phone calls.

"It was a really good moment in some tough days when I got messages from those guys and still felt like I was part of their everyday," Maharaj said. "I say it all the time: I don't coach goalies, I coach people. Watching these guys go through their careers, watching them grow up in some cases, it's a wonderful feeling to know that you forged a great relationship."

Along with Gibson, current Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz, who spent four seasons with Maharaj in Anaheim, was among those to touch base most often.

"He's one of the most influential guys on my career," said Stolarz, who won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last season before signing with Toronto as a free agent. "Hearing about the diagnosis hurt your heart because he's such a caring person. One of the biggest things I took from working with him was just his compassion toward his goalies, how much he cares about each one. … To see him going through that was devastating."

Getting through it was made easier by the response of Anaheim owners Henry and Susan Samueli, who told Maharaj not to worry about his expiring contract, and had Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich send a get-well video message to Maharaj, a hardcore music fan.

So too did the constant stream of messages that followed from goalies across the globe.

"Knowing how much he cares for his players, it was easy to show him we care," Miller said. "He isn't shy with his emotions and we knew he needed some of the same energy he gives."

Talking to Miller, Weekes and Stolarz, as well as current Ducks goalies Gibson and Lukas Dostal, it's clear how important Maharaj has been to each as a coach, as a teacher, as a mentor, and perhaps mostly, as a person.

"He's family to me," said Gibson, who calls Maharaj after almost every game.

Being family includes having hard conversations, said Weekes, who marveled at the strength Maharaj showed when the request came for Weekes to be one of his pallbearers.

"To be able to convey the extent of his battle and what he was facing, a lot of the physical, emotional and psychological despair and deterioration that goes with that, and to still have the strength to communicate that was a huge mark of his courage," Weekes said. "The strength, grace to have those conversations in that situation is beyond remarkable."

As inspiring as Maharaj has been in his career and cancer battle, emerging from the latter has him determined to do even more to help others. He already has taken part in several Hockey Fights Cancer initiatives with the Ducks and the NHL, and plans to volunteer more, including with Indigenous youth at a hockey camp in Northern Canada during the offseason.

Maharaj also has responded after people reached out asking him to speak to friends and relatives about their journey, even if he admits it's emotionally taxing to do so.

"There's no question it brings up a lot of tough days, but it's all been worth it," he said. "I love doing it and I love that the NHL has taken such a big role in Hockey Fights Cancer."