Wade Belak - Death

Death

At approximately 1:33 p.m. on August 31, 2011, Belak was found dead in a condo at the One King Street West hotel in Toronto. Police have not confirmed a cause of death, but Toronto Police treated it as a suicide. He was 35 years old, and had been preparing to take part in the upcoming season of Battle of the Blades. His death was the third in a string of NHL players found dead in a four-month span, following Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien. His mother stated that he had been suffering from depression. Michael Landsberg reported that he had been in talks with Belak a week before his death about their mutual depression, and that Belak admitted having been on "happy pills" for the past four to five years. Landsberg stated that Belak was agreeable to appearing in a documentary on celebrity depression that Landsberg was working on, and going public about his condition.

On September 2, 2011, P. J. Stock suggested that Belak's death might not be suicide. "Let's just call it an accidental death right now. But he did die of strangulation" said Stock. On September 21, 2011, Stock expressed regret for making those comments, explained that he did not have any information about Belak's death that was not public, and said "I just wanted to protect Wade, protect his family and his role in the game." Belak's family members have stated that they believe his death was accidental.

Belak's funeral was held in Nashville, with friends, family and former teammates in attendance.