TAMPA, Fla. — His dad and brother were around somewhere, and Brian Boyle would eventually catch up to them. But at this moment, the whole family was doing what they could to enjoy the moment. And Boyle was almost astonished at his surroundings.
“It really is a pinch-me moment,” said Boyle, the NHL All-Star. “I can’t believe this is my life.”
It had been a long, bumpy road for Boyle to get to this point, where he was playing for the Metropolitan Division team at Amalie Arena on Sunday. There was his leukemia, which he was diagnosed with in September. There was the Arteriovenous Malformation that Boyle’s 2-year-old son, Declan, is dealing with, currently at Boston General with his mother, Lauren, after a fourth operation.
Then there was the 10 previous years in the league that had defined Boyle as more of a fourth-line, character guy rather than one who shows up to events like this.
But the former Ranger and current Devil had just been nipped by Brock Boeser in the sharp-shooting skills competition on Saturday, and this was all just one big surreal scene that he was starring in.
“I’m very thankful, I always have been,” Boyle said. “I’ve never taken anything for granted to play in this league. To be here and see all these stars, these guys, how humble they are and how supportive they’ve been — throughout the year and even today — it’s wild. It really is. I’m just going to try to enjoy it as best I can.”
When Boyle was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, a rare but treatable form of cancer, his first thought was not of himself. He thought of his budding family, joined with 8-month-old girl, Isabella. He thought about his life as a father, as a provider.
“I love this game, this game has given me so much. It’s my first love. But my family, my wife, my kids, those are the No. 1 things in my life,” Boyle said. “I was more worried about that, above all else. If I could play again, great. If not, I was just going to fight like hell. And it’s been good news ever since.”
Boyle said he takes two pills in the morning and two pills at night, and that they’re dubbed “the magic bullet.” After some initial headaches and stomach pain that have gone away, he said the side-effects “are almost non-existent.” He returned to the ice Nov. 1, and has put up 11 goals and 17 points in 38 games. When teammate Taylor Hall got hurt and the Devils needed a representative for this weekend, the league made a terrific decision by looking in his direction.
And it was a tough decision for him to decide to come. During the team’s final game before the break Thursday, Boyle had driven up to his hometown of Boston to take Declan in for another operation. His wife stayed up there, another night in a hospital room. But she urged Boyle to go, and just thinking about it made Boyle come close to choking up.
“She knows that I worked my whole life to play this game,” he said, “and I just want to do my best.”
Just three weeks after Boyle was diagnosed, he and Lauren took Declan to the doctor and they were being prepared for the worst. They were being told it could be sarcoma in his jaw that was stunting the growth of bones and causing a backup in his veins. They were getting ready for unimaginable pain.
“It was the worst two days of my entire life,” Boyle said.
But the news came back relatively good, and Boyle said, “The doctors have assured me everything will be fine. It’s just scary to see.”
So Boyle went to the All-Star Game, and was embraced by another enamored fan base from his three years as a member of the Lightning. The cheers were enormous, and his smile was ever-present. He said it’s all been “a whirlwind,” and nothing he could have imagined a few months ago.
“That’s something that we prayed a lot about — why is this happening?” Boyle said. “My mother would tell me about Mother Teresa’s quote: ‘I know God would never give me anything I can’t handle, I just sometimes wish he didn’t trust me so much.’ Sometimes you don’t give yourself enough credit. But the support I’ve had with the people around me, it’s a nice life to be a part of right now. I’m very loved and very grateful.”