CONSEQUENCES

Todd Ewen’s Widow Sues NHL Over Brain Injury She Blames for His Death

Todd Ewen took his own life in 2015, later diagnosed with CTE.

The widow of former pro hockey player Todd Ewen is suing the National Hockey League over a brain injury that she blames for his death. Ewen, who took his own life in 2015, was posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which Kelli Ewen believes triggered his depression. The lawsuit states that the NHL allowed violence at games and didn’t warn players of the long-term consequences of repeated blows to the head. “To this day, the NHL continues to downplay and deny the long-term neurocognitive effects of repeated head hits and the link between head hits and CTE, leading former NHL players to believe that the neurocognitive symptoms they suffer from are not a result of their head hits during their time in the NHL,” the suit alleges. CTE is a form of brain degeneration that can trigger depression, rage, and memory loss. Ewen was a noted enforcer for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and San Jose Sharks from 1986 to 1997.