Local NHL hockey pro Chris Simon was suffering from a degenerative brain disease when he died last year.
In an effort to "raise awareness of the urgent need for medical and mental health resources available to former hockey players struggling with the long-term effects of repetitive head impacts", Simon's family and the Concussion Legacy Foundation have announced the results of post-mortem brain tissue analysis led to a diagnosis of stage 3 of 4 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, with "severe CTE pathology in areas of the brain involved with congition and mood regulation", with Dr. Ann McKee - chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System, and director of the Boston University CTE Center and UNITE Brain Bank, where Simon's brain was donated - further noting that CTE "likely...contributed to his memory problems, depression, and apathy".
52-year-old Simon died by suicide in March 2024, though the CLF says "suicide is complex and multifactorial, and a post-mortem CTE diagnosis should not be considered to confirm CTE as a cause of a suicide".
Simon was drafted by the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers in 1990, playing for a number of NHL clubs from 1992 until 2008, when he joined Russia's KHL, ending his professional career in 2013 - his greatest career moment was winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, bringing the famed trophy back to Wawa.