Golden Knights Player & Former Blackhawk Forced to Retire Due to Heart Disease After COVID-19 Complications
This NHL off-season has been quite the sad one, we have had many losses within the hockey community, over 30 NHL players leaving the league to pursue a career elsewhere, and now players stepping forward with serious issues such as a Leafs prospect with a brain tumour, and now a former Chicago Blackhawk and a current player of the Vegas Golden Knights has decided to officially retire at the age of 24 due to a heart disease, caused by COVID-19 complications..
Mikael Hakkarainen has officially announced his retirement from the NHL and hockey as a whole at a very young age, and it is very sad to see. Mikael was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks and then traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Marc-Andre Fleury. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hakkarainen family, and Mikael himself spoke about the situation below.
"I got the crown at the end of January. I got severe symptoms and went to play too early. Since April I have been doing nothing and observing what the situation is. Now it has become known that I have congenital heart disease LVNC, i.e. trabeculating cardiomyopathy, Hakkarainen said.
It means that I have a higher risk of having a heart attack on the field - especially when there are contact situations. It would have been hard to play and I would have gotten a place, but you can't play with your health."
It means that I have a higher risk of having a heart attack on the field - especially when there are contact situations. It would have been hard to play and I would have gotten a place, but you can't play with your health."
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