P.J. Stock: Wade Belak’s Death Was Accidental

Former New York Rangers winger P.J. Stock is speaking out on the tragic death of former NHL winger Wade Belak this past week.

Stock, currently a contestant on “Battle of the Blades” with Belak in Canada, is saying Belak was not a depressed guy and it was not a suicide but an accidental death.

“So many things spread so quickly. I feel terrible for Wade’s family and his family and friends and the team about how quickly everything spread. And now it just opens up so many possibilities on why he passed away. It follows up of course the Rick Rypien story and [whether they are] related. It’s just a snowball that’s gotten way out of control and I don’t know how to reel it back in.

“There’s going to be a little bit more to the story. I was just with him a couple of weeks ago and I know a lot of people who know Wade really well, and a lot of people are throwing this on depression and he was not a real depressed guy. He might have had a couple of issues but not demons like Rick Rypien did. Not demons that would have taken his life.

“I believe they’ve taken the word ‘suicide’ away from this and called it an ‘accidental death’. That’s kind of the latest.”

Stock later said, “Let’s just call it an accidental death right now. But he did die of strangulation,” and that “it’s not fair” to place the deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak in the same context.

… I hate to speculate on what idea I get after reading what Stock said so I will leave the guessing game and speculation to the readers. 

It’s a shame that it all went down like this but Stock seems to know more than the rest of us. Either way, it doesn’t take away the fact that a young, totally in-shape hockey player has passed away in a tragic way.

I am very curious to learn how and why Belak died. If it wasn’t a suicide or based off of depression will the NHL breath a sigh of relief? I hate to say it but you know the league is hoping that now. 

We wish nothing but the best for Wade’s wife and his two young children who will now grow up fatherless. It is them that will now have to suffer with all the speculation going around and of course the void now left in their life without Wade.