Former Stanley Cup Champion Diagnosed with CTE

In an awful update, another former NHL player and Stanley Cup champion has been diagnosed with CTE. Chris Simon, one of the toughest enforcers of his era and champion with the Colorado Avalanche became the latest deceased NHLer to have the effects of CTE discovered in his brain.

Simon passed away in March of 2024 at age 52. Following his tragic death, his family donated his brain to be studied by the Boston University CTE Center. According to an update and statement from the family shared by NHL agenet Allan Walsh, they diagnosed Simon with stage 3 CTE. In the family's statement, they discussed the tremendous struggles Chris endured due to this diseases.

"Chris was suffering tremendously from CTE," they stated. "We saw him declining but did not know where to turn to for help. Chris' short term memory issues were ongoing for many years. We also learned that he had lost most of his hearing, had daily headaches, light sensitivity, paranoia, was easily frustrated with tasks, had extreme anxiety, difficult navigating in a vehicle, apathy - lack of feeling and emotion, impulsivity, distancing himself from those who meant the most to him, had executive dysfunction - meaning he couldn't plan or problem solve and he had suicidal thoughts at times."