Ex-Leafs enforcer Wade Belak committed suicide: report

Police sources told radio station 680News that it appears Wade Belak committed suicide. However, they won’t be able to confirm that until an autopsy is completed.

The former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer was found dead Wednesday afternoon in a room at One King West Hotel & Residence in downtown Toronto where Belak was staying. He was 35.

Police said they found the body hanging from the room but that foul play wasn’t suspected.

Meanwhile, NHL players went on Twitter, demanding the league look into this matter.

Belak retired from hockey last March after the Nashville Predators placed him on waivers. He was in Toronto preparing to compete on Battle of the Blades this September.  

Only 18 hours before his death, Belak was on Twitter, tweeting messages about practising for the Battle of the Blades competition to his 8,392 followers.

Here’s a look at tweets following the hashtag, #belak.

Belak was the third NHL tough guy to pass away unexpectedly in the past three months.

On Aug. 15 former Vancouver Canuck and Winnipeg Jets scrapper Rick Rypien, 27, who suffered from depression, was found dead in his Alberta home. On May 13, New York Ranger heavyweight Derek Boogaard died in Minneapolis. A medical examiner ruled his death was an accident due to mixing alcohol and oxycodone.

Like Rypien and Boogaard, Belak largely made his living with his fists. He fought 136 times during a NHL career that spanned 14 seasons, according to hockeyfights.com.

The string of incidents has raised uncomfortable questions about a possible link between the difficult role each man played in the NHL and his untimely death.

Columnist Mark Spector wrote on Sportsnet.ca that the only way to do away with the suffering of these gladiators is to ban fighting but he suggested the league ask its fighters first.

Columnist Michael Grange wrote on Sportsnet.ca that he hopes Belak’s death will lead to examination of the NHL’s tragic summer.

“Perhaps it will encourage other hockey players and other athletes to get out from behind their tough-guy masks, consider their own tormented souls and perhaps help one or two seek support or guidance before they otherwise would.

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Scores of NHL players used their Twitter accounts to discuss the death, including ex-Leaf player Jamal Mayers.

“Sad day for the entire hockey fraternity! We really need to take a deep look into the WHY? I feel for his wife and young daughters! #answers,” he tweeted.

Tyson Nash, a former Leaf and Coyotes player, tweeted that the NHL Players’ Association let Belak down.

“Hard for people to understand but retirement is the hardest thing a player will ever go through. Nothing can prepare u for it,” he tweeted.

“Ur entire life is dedicated to hockey and then one day it’s all over and ur kicked to the curb! And the NHLPA does nothing to prepare u.”

Journeyman forward Dave Scatchard who was recently forced to retire because of concussions tweeted, “This is the worst summer I’ve ever seen with regards to tragedies in the NHL,” Scatchard wrote. “I pray this all ends here.”

Fans also flocked to social media on hearing the news. Thousands of messages flooded Twitter and by early evening, and at least 10 memorial pages devoted to Belak had sprung up on Facebook.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement that the league was mourning Belak’s death.

“Our hearts go out to Wade’s loved ones, his friends, his former teammates and to all who feel the horrible void left by this tragedy,” he said.

The Predators and Leafs teams issued statements late Wednesday expressing shock and sadness over Belak’s death.

-What are your memories of Wade Belak? Email us at torontoweb@citynews.ca or leave a comment in this story. You can also tweet us @CityNews, or you can submit your thoughts through our Your Stories tool at the bottom right side of our homepage.

With files from The Canadian Press