Sport Chris Simon (52†)
Mourning for infamous NHL star
As of: 2:28 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
FILE – New York Rangers’ Chris Simon celebrates his second-period goal against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004, at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. Former NHL enf…orcer Chris Simon has died. He was 52. Simon died Monday night, March 18, 2024, according to a spokesperson for the NHL Players’ Association. (AP Photo/Ed Betz, File)
Those: AP/ED BETZ
Chris Simon was best known in the NHL for his ruthlessness on the ice. At the age of 52, the life of the ex-pro, who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche, ended tragically. His family is sure they know the reason for his death.
Ice hockey is a dangerous sport. Despite all the tightening of the rules, serious injuries continue to occur. Sometimes these are accepted. For example, when two professionals fight each other on the ice. The fight usually only ends after several hard blows. One person who was happy to get there was Chris Simon. Now he is dead, eleven years after his career ended.
The National Hockey League (NHL) is mourning the Canadian who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996. Simon died on Monday at the age of 52, as the league and some of the ex-professional’s former teams, who was active in the best ice hockey league in the world for a total of 15 years, confirmed.
Simon’s family has now also made an official statement about the ice hockey player’s death. The Canadian’s relatives are certain that the serious head injuries from his time as a professional were the cause of his death. “The family, having experienced it firsthand, is deeply convinced that Simon suffered greatly from CTE and that this tragically led to his death,” the statement said. Simon took his own life, the family said.
The NHL honored Chris Simon with an overlay on the video cubes in the arenas
Source: AP/Nick Wass
CTE is a brain disease that occurs after frequent blows or impacts to the head. Symptoms include cognitive deficits as well as personality and behavioral changes. Whether Simon suffered from CTE can only be diagnosed through a posthumous brain scan. In the past, several former NHL professionals have died as a result of CTE disease. These include Wade Belak, Derek Boogard, Steve Montador and Zarley Salapski.
Simon feared as an enforcer
The Simon family’s theory is also supported by his career as a so-called enforcer. Your job on the ice is to attack opposing players particularly hard and get them into fights. Simon was notorious for his brutality. The 1.93 meter tall and 105 kilogram professional collected a total of 1,824 penalty minutes in the NHL and was suspended eight times; in 2007 for 30 games for stepping on a downed opponent.
Roughneck: Chris Simon accumulated over 1,800 penalty minutes during his NHL career
Source: AP/JEFF MCINTOSH
“Chris was a great guy, a beloved teammate and an important part of our first championship season,” Avalanche team president Joe Sakic acknowledged the Canadian in a statement. “He was a really good hockey player who could score goals, was very present in the dressing room and was the first to get up to defend his teammates. Off the ice he was an incredible guy and a caring father, son, brother and friend. We will miss him dearly.” The NHL described Simon as “a fierce competitor and teammate.”
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