Former NHL player Chris Simon dies at 52 as family blames CTE

Former NHL winger Chris Simon died on Tuesday night, with his family blaming his death on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Simon’s family confirmed the 52-year-old took his own life and believe he was suffering from brain trauma. CTE can only be diagnosed through a postmortem although progress is being made towards an assessment in the living.

“The family strongly believes and witnessed first-hand, that Chris struggled immensely from CTE which unfortunately resulted in his death,” read a statement on behalf of Simon’s family.

Related: ‘She’s a strong woman’: players offer support to grieving Aryna Sabalenka

“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.”

The Canadian played for seven NHL franchises in a career that lasted from 1992 to 2013. He also played in the KHL, which is mostly based in Russia.

Simon was known for his physical and aggressive play as well as being prized as a loyal teammate. His most notable achievement came in the 1995-96 season when he helped the Colorado Avalanche to their first ever Stanley Cup title.

“Chris was a great guy, a beloved teammate and important part of our first championship season,” Avalanche president Joe Sakic said in a statement. “He was a really good hockey player who could score goals, was a big presence in the dressing room and was the first person to stand up and defend his teammates. Off the ice he was an unbelievable guy and a caring father, son, brother, and friend. He will be sorely missed.”

Another of his former teams, the New York Islanders, paid tribute to his impact off the ice. “[He] epitomized what it means to be an Islander, someone who wore his heart on his sleeve both on the ice and in the community,” the team said in a statement.

Simon was married twice and had five children. In 2017 he filed for bankruptcy, saying he was unable to work due to what he believed were symptoms of CTE which, according to documents, he said were “attributable to significant brain trauma during his hockey career.” A doctor confirmed Simon suffered from anxiety and depression, which are symptoms of CTE.

News of Simon’s death came on the same day as another former NHL player, Konstantin Koltsov, died in what police say was an “apparent suicide”. Koltsov was the partner of tennis world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka.

Last week, the first confirmed diagnosis of CTE in a fully professional rugby union player was made, after the death of New Zealander Billy Guyton at the age of 33. His brain was donated to the brain bank at the University of Auckland after his death in May.

The only known cause of CTE is traumatic brain injury, which can come from repeated blows to the head in sports such as rugby, boxing, ice hockey and American football. It can also occur during one-off catastrophic incidents such as car crashes.

• In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org