The Philadelphia Flyers will enter the 2016 playoffs without their founder, as team owner and chairman Ed Snider passed away on Monday morning due to an ongoing bout with bladder cancer. He was 83 years old.
Snider's children confirmed his death through the Flyers on Monday morning in a statement, praising one of the NHL's key leaders as "first and foremost a family man." Snider had battled bladder cancer for two years. In August of 2014, he appeared to have beaten it, but confirmed before the Flyers started the 2015-16 season that he was undergoing treatment again.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also released a statement upon Snider's passing, calling him the "soul and the spirit of the Flyers:"
"While the loss of Ed Snider tears a hole in the heart of the Flyers and the city of Philadelphia, and leaves a massive void in the city's sports landscape, it also challenges all who knew him to carry forward the great works that are his legacy."
Snider was the vice president of the Philadelphia Eagles when he co-founded the Flyers in 1967 as part of the NHL's "Second Six" expansion plan. The Flyers enjoyed success under Snider's watch, winning two Stanley Cups in the 1970's and becoming one of the more popular and iconic teams in the NHL. The Flyers have won over 1800 games, the seventh most of any NHL team and the most of any non-Original Six franchise.
Snider was also the owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued this statement on Monday:
Statement from Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner, on Ed Snider. pic.twitter.com/HnYuhAxN1X
— Brian Seltzer (@brianseltzer) April 11, 2016
Snider watched his Flyers clinch a playoff berth for the 38th time in franchise history on Saturday.