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NEWS > SPORTS > PLANE CRASH KILLS EX-NHL PLAYERS AS LEAGUE CONTINUES TO CLEAN HOUSE
PLANE CRASH KILLS EX-NHL PLAYERS AS LEAGUE CONTINUES TO CLEAN HOUSE
September 7 2011
Moscow, Russia – A plane carrying 43 people crashed shortly after takeoff near the city of Yaroslavl, Russia. Most of the dead were players for a local hockey team which included a number of ex-NHL players, adding to the ever increasing total of deceased players this off season.
Pavol Demitra, Josef Vasicek, Alexander Vasyunov, and Ruslan Salei were all aboard the flight. Demitra played 13 years in the league, Vasicek, Vasyunov, and Salei all played for a number of teams over the last few years. The deaths come only a week after the death of fellow former player Wade Belak, one more in a long chain of off-season deaths for the league.
“This a very sad day for the league, this has been a very sad period for the league. We join with the families and friends of all the people aboard the Russian flight in mourning. We wish them the best,” said an NHL spokesperson. “We have had a very challenging off season and we have lost a number of members of our extended family. We will marshal through this hard time. We will all survive.”
Reportedly, NHL officials had made a surprise visit to Russia only a few days ago, leaving only an hour before the plane crash. It’s not clear yet what connection the two incidents may have had.
“A death or two in the offseason is bound to happen. People get old, people die, but this brings the total to at least seven in the last few months which is a little odd to say the least. I don’t think anyone could have expected that something like this could have or would have happened all by itself, that’s the really strange part,” said Scrape TV Sports analyst Mark Marvins. “All of these players were relatively young, that also makes this thing strange. No older players appear to have died, only young people which indicates that they may very well be targeted for some reason.”
Reasons for them being targeted have ranged from a disgruntled ex-player to an effort by the NHL leadership to show certain types of players, particularly enforcers, that such action is no longer acceptable. None of the players on the plane were considered enforcers.
The weather was reportedly sunny and clear at the time and the plane had no apparent mechanical issues. The game the players had been travelling to will be forfeited to the opposing team.
“This has suddenly become a much bigger issue, an international issue beyond just a few bruisers. These weren’t players who had any real potency in the league, their deaths aren’t going to cause any type of real activity, any real controversy but here they are, just as dead as all those other players. That would indicate that something very unseemly is happening here, something which may go much deeper than previously believed,” continued Marvins. “Aside from the disgruntled player it could very well be that the league is trying to keep new players away, in an effort to perhaps close down the league or at least a number of teams. We all know the NHL has been suffering financially and closing down some teams would help. The only way to really do that would be to reduce the number of available players, and things like this would certainly scare younger people off. Add one more possibility to the speculation. Hopefully we find out what this is exactly sooner rather than later.”
The NHL players association has suspiciously made no comment on any of the deaths
Alexi Orton, Sports Correspondent
NEWS > SPORTS > PLANE CRASH KILLS EX-NHL PLAYERS AS LEAGUE CONTINUES TO CLEAN HOUSE
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