Ex-NHLer Belak found dead 105
TORONTO – Former Toronto Maple Leafs winger-defenceman and enforcer Wade Belak was found dead in his downtown Toronto condo Wednesday, gucci outletsources say.
He is the latest in a line of several NHL pugilists who died over the past decade from unusual circumstances including suicide, alcohol and drug abuse.
Belak killed himself, according to sources.
Toronto Police refused comment after being called to the condo at 1 King St. W., where a man’s body was found.
Belak, 35, who was just signed on for the popular Battle of the Blades reality TV show, was found dead around 1:33 p.m., the source said.
He hanged himself, according to a source.
Born in 1976 in Saskatoon, the former first-round pick of the Quebec Nordiques began his NHL career in 1996 with the Colorado Avalanche — successors to the Nordiques — then spent three years with the Calgary Flames, followed by seven years with the Leafs, two years with the Florida Panthers and the Nashville Predators since 2008.
Known more for his fists than his stick-handling, the 6-foot-5, 223-pounder played 549 NHL games, scoring eight goals and 33 points, racking up 1,263 penalty minutes.
Belak’s family lives in Nashville, Tenn.
Other NHL enforcers who died before their time include:
– Canadian-born John Kordic was 27 when the Quebec Nordiques player died Aug. 8, 1992 from lung failure and a heart malfunction after overdosing on drugs and being involved in a struggle with police at a motel in Quebec City.
– Windsor, Ont., native Bob Probert, 45, suffered chest pains while boating with family on Lake St. Clair on July 5, 2010. Retired from the Chicago Blackhawks, his career was clouded by a prison term for cocaine possession, terms in rehab and an on-ice reputation as one of the Bruise Brothers fighting players. Tests on his brain later disclosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
– Former New York Rangers player Derek Boogaard was almost 29 when he died this past May 13. Called the Boogeyman and Mountie for his reputation as a fighter, the Saskatoon native was voted second most intimidating NHLer. His death was ruled accidental. A medical examiner determined he consumed a lethal mix of alcohol and oxycodone.
– Born in 1984 in Blairmore, near the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta, Rick Rypien spent the past six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and was due to start with the reborn Winnipeg Jets this fall after signing a $700,000 deal. His death at home two weeks ago, on Aug. 15, was ruled a suicide.
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