Former NHL winger Chris Simon dies at 52

Former NHL winger Chris Simon has died at 52. His household confirmed he died by suicide in a press release launched Tuesday night time.

“The household strongly believes and witnessed firsthand, that Chris struggled immensely from CTE which sadly resulted in his loss of life,” the assertion, supplied by Simon’s former agent, Paul Theofanous, on behalf of Simon’s household, learn.

“We’re grieving with the lack of our son, brother, father, accomplice, teammate and good friend. All the Wawa neighborhood is sharing in our grief. We won’t be releasing any additional particulars right now and ask for privateness throughout this very troublesome time. We admire everybody who shares in our tragic loss.”

Simon was identified for his physicality in a profession that noticed him play for seven franchises. A member of the Quebec Nordiques, he was a part of the staff that relocated to Denver and helped the Avalanche win their first Stanley Cup in franchise historical past in the course of the 1995-96 season.

“Chris was an ideal man, a beloved teammate and essential a part of our first championship season,” Avalanche president Joe Sakic mentioned in a press release. “He was a extremely good hockey participant who might rating objectives, was a giant presence within the dressing room and was the primary individual to face up and defend his teammates. Off the ice he was an unbelievable man and a caring father, son, brother, and good friend. He shall be sorely missed.”

The Islanders posted on social media that Simon “epitomized what it means to be an Islander, somebody who wore his coronary heart on his sleeve each on the ice and locally.”

From the NHL Alumni Affiliation’s social media: “Chris was by no means afraid to face up for his teammates, and performed a key function within the dressing room. He was a beloved good friend, father, brother, and son.”

The NHL known as Simon a “fierce competitor and teammate” and expressed condolences in a press release Tuesday.

Simon spent the majority of his profession with the Washington Capitals and scored a career-high 29 objectives and 49 factors in the course of the 1999-2000 season. He would additionally play for the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Islanders and Minnesota Wild over his profession.

“Chris Simon was most positively an intimidating man on the ice,” former teammate Mike Commodore posted on social media. “We spent lots of time collectively throughout Flames ’04 run since we had been each residing within the resort. … He could not have been nicer to me. RIP Chris. You may be missed.”

Simon final performed within the NHL within the 2007-08 season earlier than spending the subsequent 5 seasons taking part in within the KHL in Russia, the place he turned a two-time all-star.

Simon completed his NHL profession with 1,824 penalty minutes and 305 factors in 864 video games.