Wife of former NHLer Marek Svatos confirms he had CTE

In a series of interviews with TSN, former NHL forward Marek Svatos’ wife, Diana, confirmed that the forward had chronic traumatic encephalopathy at the time of his death in 2016.

Svatos was 34 on Nov. 4, 2016, when he passed away in his home in Colorado. According to Diana, the official cause of death was ruled as an accidental overdose.

“I want people to know that Marek was a good person who loved his family and made decisions because of CTE, not because he was a bad person,” Diana told TSN’s Rick Westhead.

Diana said her husband suffered at least half a dozen documented concussions during his NHL career from 2003-2004 until 2010-11. She donated Marek’s brain to Boston University researchers days after his death. A year after his death, Diana said she received a pathology report that showed that Marek had Stage 2 CTE, which is often the cause of depression, headaches, and memory loss.

“I don’t know how many times I heard him say ‘the lights went out’ after he had had a concussion,” she said. “I heard it enough times to remember that phrase.”

Svatos spent 344 games with Colorado, Nashville, and Ottawa, scoring a career-high 32 goals and 50 points with Colorado during his rookie season in 2005-06.

Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Dryden has asked for a zero-tolerance policy on hits to the head in hockey. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said there is “no conclusive link” between consistent head impacts and CTE. In recent years, Todd Ewen, Steve Montador, Rick Martin, Bob Probert Stan Mikita, and Derek Boogard have all been diagnosed with CTE.

In 2018, the NHL settled an $18.9 million lawsuit with 318 former NHLers who accused the league of minimizing the dangers of brain trauma.

“Being honest about how big a problem this is would be a good first step by the NHL,” Diana said.