Chris Simon, a former NHL enforcer, took his own life at the age of 52, according to his family.
They made the devastating claim that Simon “struggled immensely” in his fight against the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
The statement sent on behalf of Simon’s family by Simon’s former agent, Paul Theofanous, stated, “The family strongly believes and witnessed firsthand, that Chris struggled immensely from CTE which unfortunately resulted in his death.”
A representative for the NHL Players’ Association said on Tuesday that Simon passed away on Monday night in his hometown of Wawa, Ontario.
From 1993 to 2008, Simon participated in 15 NHL seasons and 857 regular-season and postseason games. He fought over 100 times in his career and totaled 1,824 penalty minutes, good for 67th place in league history.
Simon participated in trips to the Stanley Cup finals with Calgary in 2004 and Washington in 1998. Simon won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996.
Prior to retirement after five KHL seasons from 2008 to 2013, he previously played for Chicago, Calgary, Minnesota, the New York Rangers, and the Islanders. He also spent time with the Quebec Nordiques before they changed their name to the Avalanche.
Though he occasionally overstepped the line and received extra discipline, Simon was a well-liked teammate and fan favorite on the rink.
He served eight suspensions by the NHL, totaling 65 games. In March 2007, he was punished for 25 games while with the Islanders for cross-checking Ryan Hollweg of the Rangers in the face, and in December, he was suspended for 30 games for stomping on Jarkko Ruutu of Pittsburgh.
Simon didn’t reveal any information about his family including the identity of his wife and children at the time of his death. It is unknown whether he was married and had children before his demise.
