Earlier this week, we reported on the unexpected death of perennial NHL tough guy Chris Simon.
Simon, who was only 52 years old, was a journeyman NHL enforcer who missed more than five dozen games due to his on-ice shenanigans.
As it turns out, it may have been his career as an enforcer that led to his death.
Sad Times
If you are an NHL fan, you know Simon was not exactly the most skilled player in the league.
He was, however, feared.
When this man stepped on the ice after a big hit to his team’s star, you better believe he was going to get at least an ounce of blood in revenge.
With more than 1,800 penalty minutes in his career, you can imagine he took his fair share of shots to the head in punches and retaliation.
His family believes that is what ultimately led to him taking his own life.
A statement from the family read, “The family strongly believes and witnessed firsthand, that Chris struggled immensely from CTE which unfortunately resulted in his death.
“We are grieving with the loss of our son, brother, father, partner, teammate and friend.
“The entire Wawa community is sharing in our grief. We will not be releasing any further details at this time and ask for privacy during this very difficult time. We appreciate everyone who shares in our tragic loss.”
Simon won the Stanley Cup in 1996 with the Colorado Avalanche, and he was loved by his teammates for never backing down when someone went after one of his guys.
Fighting has been taken out of the game for the most part.
While there are still scrums from time to time, the tilts we see today are nothing like the days of Simon and surely not the brutal nature of fights when enforcers like Dave Schultz patrolled the ice.
Rest in peace, sir.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: G. McConway
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.conservativejournalreview.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.