Jets Player Found Dead In Home

Yahoo has reported that C Rick Rypien was found dead in his home on Monday. Police are calling the death sudden, but not unexpected.



This comes nine months after he left the Manitoba Moose for an undisclosed personal matter. The Canucks (Manitoba's parent team) announced on Nov. 25 that they had granted Rypien an indefinite leave of absence. It was the second time in three years the forward had left the team to deal with an undisclosed personal matter. Rypien also received a six-game suspension from the NHL last season after grabbing a fan on his way to the dressing room in Minnesota. He did not play for the Atlanta Thrashers, but was signed in July to the Jets.



The Vancouver Canucks, where Ryan spent 6 years in their system, released a statement:



“It is with tremendous sadness that the Vancouver Canucks confirm the passing of Rick Rypien. Rick has been a beloved member of the Canucks family for the past six years. Rick was a great teammate and friend to our players, coaches and staff. We send our deepest condolences to the Rypien family at this most difficult time.”



The Winnipeg Jets released the following statement:



“We are deeply saddened to confirm Rick’s passing. As many people are aware, he had strong ties to True North Sports & Entertainment, the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club, the former Manitoba Moose Hockey Club and the Vancouver Canucks. We would like to express our sincere sympathies to the Rypien family as well as Rick’s friends. We also appreciate all of the support that has come pouring in from Rick’s fans. Rick was a talented player with an extremely bright future. His hunger for the game made him a valued team member both on and off the ice. This loss has impacted us as more than just a hockey team.”



This is the second active NHL player to pass this offseason. Derek Boogaard of the Rangers also died of a drug overdose. For more on his passing, you can re-read my post here concerning the arrest of the victim's brother.



I haven't seen anything yet to indicate if Rypien's death is related to alcohol, suicide, homicide, drugs, or domestic dispute at this time, though I'm leaning towards drugs and alcohol given the statement about his sudden, but not unexpected passing and the multiple leaves of absences.



I have been absent from the blog and the state recently, so my apologies. I will try to follow this story as best I can and report what I hear.



In case that name Rypien sounds familiar, you might remember him as the player that attacked a fan in the stands while playing for Vancouver against the Wild in Minnesota. It happens just after the 1:00 mark.







I also mentioned Rypien in a previous blog post where I talked about some of the new Jets that had been signed. Here's what I said then as a part of that post:



"Rick Rypien appeared in nine games last season with the Vancouver Canucks where he collected an assist and 31 penalty minutes. In total, he has played in 119 career games in the NHL with the Canucks from 2005 to 2011 where he has scored 16 points (9g, 7a) and 226 penalty minutes. So he's scrappy. Rypien has also played in 17 career Stanley Cup playoff games where he has collected three assists and 47 penalty minutes. Yeah. Scrappy. He too might have a home crowd advantage since Rypien also played in 11 games last season with the Manitoba Moose where he collected two assists and nine penalty minutes. He has played in a total of 116 games in the AHL, all with Manitoba from 2004 to 2011. In that span, Rypien has scored 39 points (16g, 23a) and collected 252 penalty minutes."



Regardless of the cause of death, this is certainly a dark day for the new Winnipeg Jets.



RIP Rick Rypien.