Former Rangers enforcer Chris Simon diagnosed with CTE brain trauma year after committing suicide
Nearly 13 months after Chris Simon committed suicide, the former New York Rangers forward was diagnosed with stage 3 CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a degenerative brain disease. Simon’s family released the results of his brain tissue analysis through the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) on Monday.
The family of the longtime NHL enforcer donated his brain to the UNITE Brain Bank at the Boston University CTE Center after his death. They believed he was suffering from CTE because his symptoms included anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Simon family made the results public “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, who was 52 when he took his life in March 2024, had more than 100 fights during a 15-year NHL career. The former forward accumulated 1,824 penalty minutes in 782 NHL games and is the only player in League history to have multiples suspensions of 25 games or more.
He also scored 144 goals in his career, including 29 with the Washington Capitals in 1999-2000 and 16 in 1995-96, when he helped the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.
“Our family is extremely thankful to Dr. Ann McKee, Lisa McHale and all staff at Boston University CTE Center and the Concussion Legacy Foundation for all of their work and support,” the Simon family said in a statement released Monday. “We are relieved that stage 3 CTE was definitively found in his brain as it will help bring some closure and healing to his family and friends. The unfortunate feeling of anger is also present due to the negligence of a professional league turning a blind eye to CTE and other significant brain injuries sustained in the sport of hockey.”
Former Rangers forward Derek Boogaard, who died in 2011 after an accidental overdose of alcohol and oxycodone, also was found to have CTE. In fact, 19 of 20 NHL players studied at the Boston University CTE Center have had CTE, including Bobby Hull, Ralph Backstrom, Stan Mikita and Bob Probert.
A December 2024 BU study found the odds of developing CTE increased by 34 percent for each year of hockey played.
“Mr. Simon had severe CTE pathology in areas of the brain involved with cognition and mood regulation, and it is likely CTE contributed to his memory problems, depression, and apathy,” said Dr. Ann McKee, chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System and director of the Boston University CTE Center and UNITE Brain Bank.
Included within the CLF press release was this direct statement about the League: “NHL commissioner Gary Bettman still refuses to acknowledge the link between playing in the NHL and developing CTE.”
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Chris Simon had mixed history with Rangers
Simon had a mixed relationship with the Rangers. After spending seven seasons as a thorn in their side when he played for the Capitals, Simon joined the Rangers for the 2003-04 season. He won over the Garden Faithful with a team-leading 225 penalty minutes, second-most in his career — and he also was tied for fourth on the Blueshirts with 14 goals.
That season was New York’s seventh straight missing the playoffs. But it was a tough team to play against, led by Simon, Matthew Barnaby and Dale Purinton.
After the NHL lockout the following season, Simon played two seasons with the Calgary Flames before landing with the Islanders. It was with their arch rival that Simon is likely most remembered by Rangers fans.
On March 8, 2007 during the Rangers’ 2-1 win against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum, Simon chopped his former Blueshirts teammate Ryan Hollweg in the face with his stick after taking a hit that knocked him face-first into the boards. Simon received a match penalty for intent to injure and was suspended the rest of the season and into the next, for a total of 25 games.
The incident made Simon a villain at Madison Square Garden. Fortunately, Hollweg was not seriously injured, though his chin was cut by the stick.
Simon’s family said that “Looking back we now realize that Chris likely started suffering from CTE in his late 20s to early 30s. Our entire family suffered for many years as we saw our son, brother, father, husband slip away from us and we couldn’t do anything to help him.”
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