SAINT PAUL, MN - NOVEMBER 20: Derek Boogaard #94 of the New York Rangers skates against the Minnesota Wild during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on November 20, 2010 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Rangers won 5-2. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Derek Boogaard
The lawyer in Derek Boogaard's family's wrongful death lawsuit against the NHL has asked to delay a court ruling on the case, citing new evidence that could prove vital to the accusation that the league did not do enough prevent Boogaard's ultimately fatal addiction to painkillers.
Boogaard, a former enforcer for the Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers, died in May of 2011 of an accidental drug overdose. He was home on an unsupervised leave from a rehab program at the time of his death. Boogaard was 28 years old.
According to TSN, the Boogaard family's lawyer, Bill Gibbs, sent a letter to the court asking to delay a ruling on the lawsuit while he works to get evidence unsealed from a separate case, a lawsuit filed by over 80 former players against the NHL claiming the league does not do enough to protect players from the harmful long-term effects of concussions. Gibbs is also a lawyer in the concussion case.
The court could rule as early as Sept. 16 on an NHL motion to dismiss the Boogaard case.
(h/t TSN)
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