04/23/24
May 13, 2011
NHL Player Derek Boogaard Found Dead: in his Minneapolis apartment Friday. He was 28.
posted by TheQatarian to hockey at 11:02 PM - 5 comments
Boogaard, who signed a four-year, $6.5 million contract with the Rangers last July after five seasons with the Wild, was limited to 22 games in New York because of a serious concussion. In March, he talked about how he never had experienced anything like it. He barely could leave his West Side apartment for weeks and had to wear sunglasses outdoors because he was bothered by sunlight.
He took solace in walks around Central Park.
Terrible news. You have to wonder if side effects of the concussion (which could include underlying brain damage or clinical depression) played a role.
Being a Canucks fan, I saw enough of Boogard during his time with the Wild, but by all accounts he was a great guy off the ice and 28 is just too, too young.
posted by rumple at 02:39 AM on May 14, 2011
Here's a video of Boogaard's 2010 goal, which ended the longest scoring drought in NHL history.
posted by rcade at 10:55 AM on May 14, 2011
posted by tommybiden at 01:12 PM on May 14, 2011
Family donates Boogard's brain to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.
This suggests the family suspects that his concussion was related to his death in one way or another.
posted by rumple at 12:22 AM on May 15, 2011
While an enforcer on the ice, Boogaard was generally known as a really nice guy off the rink. He will be missed.
(It also seems like an odd coincidence that a player nicknamed "The Boogeyman" would die on Friday the 13th.)
With the news of Boogaard as well as the imminent demise of Harmon Killebrew, it hasn't been a real happy day in Minny.