One of the most popular figures in Canadian hockey history is battling cancer.
Paul Henderson, who scored the historic winning goals for Canada in its 1972 Summit Series with the former Soviet Union, says he's been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Henderson made the stunning admission Thursday on CBC-TV's Connect with Mark Kelley and added he's been fighting the disease since November.
"I have no angst in my body, no fear whatsoever," Henderson said. "I have no fear and I really believe that's because of my faith.
"I'm going to be aggressively taking a look at this for sure. The stuff I have doesn't respond well to early treatment, so we haven't done anything yet.
"Obviously I'm educating myself like crazy, I might end up going to Germany or down to the (U.S.) to do something. I'm going to be very aggressive in trying to arrest it.'
Henderson, a devout Christian, says because of his faith he's not afraid at the prospect of losing his battle with the cancer.
"I still sleep at night," he said. "I'm not worried about dying, I know I'm going to die someday.
"I'm 67 and man, I can't think of anybody more fortunate than I am. But it's nice to have that inner peace. My philosophy is I take today, live it the best way I can and if I wake up I'll take another shot at tomorrow."
Henderson, of Lucknow, Ont., bought a country to its feet with his series-clinching goal in the eighth and final game of the '72 series in Moscow. He also scored the winning goals in the sixth and seventh games.
The left winger broke into the NHL in 1961 with the Detroit Red Wings before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1967. He left the club in 1974 for the now-defunct World Hockey Association's Toronto Toros and spent time with the Birmingham Bulls before returning to the NHL with the Atlanta Flames in the 1979-80 season.
After retiring from hockey, Henderson became a motivational speaker and also wrote two books: Shooting for Glory and The Fans Go Wild.
