The average time for a shift in ice hockey is between 30 and 45 seconds. It begins when a player steps over the bench and takes the ice, charging up and down the rink at full speed. They throw their body at the puck, opponents, and the boards, giving everything they have. When the shift ends, the player returns to the bench, dripping with sweat and exhausted, chest heaving as their lungs work overtime.
An average fan watching a hockey game takes between six and 10 breaths during the length of a hockey shift. A player, however, probably takes closer to 12 to 14 breaths per shift. While nobody in the arena is counting their breaths, there’s no one more attuned to the power of breath than Gunnar Esiason.
Gunnar Esiason isn’t like most hockey players — his ability to complete a shift often depended on how his cystic fibrosis was affecting him that day. Throughout his journey with CF, hockey became a lifeline during some of his darkest moments.
“In some ways, to me there was like some … normalcy that was driven into my life, despite everything I had to manage,” Gunnar told ESPN. “Hockey gave me that opportunity, right? When I was at my sickest, it was sort of like the release from CF.”
Gunnar, son of former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and broadcasting legend Boomer Esiason, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 25 months old. His story is chronicled in the latest E60, “Second Wind,” which airs on Dec. 24 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Cystic fibrosis, or CF, is a genetic disorder that causes the body to produce a thick mucus that can plug up the pancreas and lungs, making it extremely difficult to breathe. There are also digestive complications that accompany the diagnosis. Around 40,000 people in the United States and 100,000 people worldwide suffer from the disorder. At the time of Gunnar’s diagnosis, CF patients typically died before reaching adulthood.
There is no cure for cystic fibrosis, but the condition can be treated with daily medications and therapy.
“As I got older, [hockey] was actually kind of like the barometer of my health,” Gunnar said. “I could tell that I was feeling well when I was able to enjoy playing.”
Coming from a notable sports family, Gunnar’s passion and participation were encouraged from an early age — chronic condition be damned.
“My parents were very deliberate in encouraging me to have whatever life I wanted to have,” Gunnar recalled. “When I was playing youth hockey, my dad would be the dad banging on the glass while I was out there on the ice. I remember just having so much fun and thinking, okay, it was worth it.”
During the majority of Gunnar’s hockey career, he was only able to manage shorter shifts than the rest of his teammates, and he would frequently cough and spit up mucus onto the ice. But despite the highs and lows, hockey was always there for him.
“I think the way to look at it … he was able to play hockey, and so it was just kind of like small victories, you know, so he had a great hockey season, it was healthy for him to be out there skating,” said Gunnar’s mother, Cheryl.
While Boomer and Cheryl were exploring treatments for Gunnar’s disorder, Boomer would also take him to New York Rangers games, including playoff games and a Stanley Cup Final during the Rangers’ legendary 1994 run.
“ I just wanted to make sure that he had a fulfilling life, given the fact that we were told that it was going to be somewhat condensed when he was born,” Boomer said.
Outside of his skills on the ice, Gunnar followed his famous dad’s footsteps and joined his high school football team. But despite Gunnar’s passion, Boomer saw something that his son didn’t.
“He knew I was a much better hockey player, so he very candidly told me, ‘You’re not a really good football player,'”Gunnar shared. “Let’s think about hockey season in three or four months, and then let’s think about college in 12 months.”
The hockey passion in the Esiason clan doesn’t stop with Gunnar. His sister, Sydney, is married to NHL player Matt Martin, who’s currently rostered with the crosstown rival, the New York Islanders.
No matter who the Esiasons are cheering for, the family has always rooted for Gunnar in his fight with cystic fibrosis. But the trajectory of his battle with CF was never a straight line. While sports remained an important aspect of Gunnar’s life, CF caused him to miss his senior year of high school football.
Gunnar managed to play hockey during college, but his health took a downturn in his early twenties. He took solace in coaching high school hockey at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, NY where he attended high school, making sure he set goals for himself.
“I wanted to grow participation in the team. I wanted to retain players all through all four years of high school … So I developed those metrics for myself, and I put every ounce of remaining health that I had into making that vision happen … And I think, that’s how I coped with my CF for a long time.”
As with every phase of Gunnar’s life, hockey played an early role in his relationship with his wife, Darcy.
“Gunnar and I met in 2015, and our first date was a Ranger game,” Darcy told ESPN. “And I grew up in New York, and I played hockey as a kid and was a Ranger fan, so of course, I said yes.” Gunnar even proposed to Darcy while ice skating.
After a few particularly nasty years battling CF, Gunnar entered into a clinical trial in 2018 for a drug called Trikafta, which had received funding from the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Gunnar noticed a change in his breathing and respiratory system overnight but didn’t realize the full impact until he was playing in a recreational hockey game with his dad. In his first shift back on the ice, Gunnar skated for nearly two minutes with ease.
“Everyone was like, what the heck is going on with Gunnar?” he said. “I didn’t cough a single time the entire game. I didn’t spit anything out. I just kept going on the ice for these marathon shifts over and over and over again. Someone like finally built up the courage to ask … ‘what is going on with you?'”
Gunnar said that after the game, he and his dad shared a moment, knowing that Trikafta was really working and that Gunnar’s life had changed forever. In 2019, Trikafta was approved by the FDA, and it has been effective for about 90% of CF patients. The drug has also increased patients’ life expectancy to the mid-70s.
Trikafta has opened up a world of possibilities for Gunnar, who described a conversation he shared with his wife while stuck in traffic on a road trip.
“It was almost like a, ‘What do you wanna be when you grow up?’ question. And it brought back so many different memories from, you know, being a high school football player and then being a high school ice hockey player, and thinking that, maybe being a high school ice hockey coach is my career … Suddenly, my mind turned into a blank whiteboard, and it occurred to me that I could do whatever I wanted.”
Now, Darcy says Gunnar is passing on his love of hockey to his children, Kaspar and Mieke, without the intrusion of cystic fibrosis. “There are CF parents older than us who have kids, have had to bear witness to a little bit more of the struggle. But we’re just so lucky that our kids for now don’t have to see that, that piece of CF, and Daddy’s just Daddy, who will play hockey in the driveway for hours and play the monkey game and throw them over his shoulder and things like that …”
Something as simple as playing hockey in the driveway, or as complicated as having a family, once seemed impossible for Gunnar. But now, he and his dad Boomer can share in the joys — and pains — of parenting and grandparenting.
”It’s been awesome for me, but I think it’s been even more special to see how my dad looks at my son when we play. I think for him, this is my opinion … he must feel like … there’s a little boy in his life now who has a body that works and gets to use it as he wants, without anything holding him back. And it’s like, you can see the twinkle in his eye in some ways.”
Gunnar is still playing recreational hockey, coaching a high school team, rooting for the Rangers, and taking on life with the passion and resilience that’s always carried him. What’s next? Coaching his kids, someday.
“Gunnar’s always the dad who’s down to do everything, and he can’t wait to coach,” Darcy says. “I don’t know if there’s anyone else who’s more excited for a 5:00 a.m. mites hockey practice on a Saturday than Gunnar.”