Ducks goaltending coach Sudarshan Maharaj is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Anaheim Ducks goaltending coach Sudarshan “Sudsie” Maharaj has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is undergoing treatment in Canada.

The team said Monday that Maharaj is receiving chemotherapy in Toronto and eventually will have surgery.

He “anticipates returning to his role with the Ducks,” the team said. In the meantime, an assistant goaltending coach will be hired.

“I plan on fighting this disease vigorously with the help of my tremendous doctors both in Toronto and with the Ducks,” Maharaj said in a statement. “The hockey community is an amazingly supportive place, and I look forward to seeing you all soon.”

Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli said, “Sudsie is bound and determined to beat this terrible disease, and we can’t wait until he does.”

Maharaj, who is 59, joined the Ducks before the 2013-14 season as a consultant with the Norfolk Admirals, then the club’s AHL affiliate. He became the Ducks’ goaltending coach in 2016-17. Previously, he spent eight years in the New York Islanders organization.

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