It's a sad day

It's been a horrible summer for the sport of hockey. It feels like you can't go more than a couple weeks without another tragic story. Today might be the worst tragedy of the summer.

If you don't follow hockey you may not have heard that a plane carrying the hockey team Lokomotiv of the Kontinental Hockey League crashed today in Russia, about 150 miles northeast of Moscow. The crash killed 43 people and left 2 critically injured. Only one member of the team survived. It's devastating for all the families of these players and coaches.

As a hockey fan I'm shocked. I see the names  Pavol Demitra and Ruslan Salei listed as two of the deceased. That's crazy, I can't wrap my brain around it. It wasn't long ago I was screaming at Demitra from my seats at the United Center. Alexander G. Karpovtsev, an old Blackhawks defenseman. Josef Vasicek, he bounced around a bit but got to play a full year with the Islanders last year. Karlis Skrastins, not a household name but hockey fans know him as a Panthers or Stars defenseman. So many other players, coaches and trainers lost today.

All this coming on the heels of an already tragic summer for the NHL dealing with the deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, and Wade Belak.

It's a sad day in the hockey world.