The family of the late Derek Boogaard is suing the NHL in a wrongful death suit. Boogaard passed away two years ago today. The suit claims that the NHL was responsible for his brain damage and addiction to prescription drugs according to The New York Times. "To distill this to one sentence," William Gibbs, attorney for the Boogaards, told The Times, "you take a young man, you subject him to trauma, you give him pills for that trauma, he becomes addicted to those pills, you promise to treat him for that addiction, and you fail."

The parents of the late Derek Boogaard are allegedly suing the NHL Players Association for $9.8 million dollars. The report states that $4.8 million of the amount is for money still owing to Boogaard under his contract with the Rangers and $5 million is for punitive damages. You may recall that Boogaard died in May of 2011 because of an accidental overdose of oxycodone and alcohol. The NHLPA had this say about the lawsuit: "We are saddened to read reports that the parents of the late Derek Boogaard have filed a lawsuit against the NHLPA. We have not been served with or seen a copy of the complaint, but we are confident that there is no meritorious claim that can be made against the NHLPA in regard to Derek's tragic death". The Boogaard story is an tragic one that is likely to get uglier. We can only hope the NHL, its players and coaches will take something positive from Boogaard's death and carefully review the tolerance for fighting in the League going forward.

Derek Boogaard, who passed away on May 13, 2011 because of an accidental overdose of oxycodone and alcohol, had accumulated more than 100 prescriptions in his final three seasons in the NHL. That includes a stretch from Oct. 2008 to April 2009 where he received a total of 622 painkiller pills from at least 25 prescriptions handed up by 10 doctors, including eight Minnesota Wild team doctors, a doctor from another NHL team, and an oral surgeon in Minneapolis. "To see him have all that access to those doctors and all those prescriptions, that is mind boggling," said executive medical director of the Professional Assistance Program of New Jersey, Dr. Louis Baxter Sr. "He had such easy access to prescription medicines." It's worth noting that the records don't reveal what Boogaard told the doctors or how much they knew about his struggles.

The brother of deceased NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard was charged Friday in relation to the player's death. Aaron Boogaard reportedly gave Derek an unprescribed narcotic painkiller one day after the player was released from rehab and as a result has been charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. It's reported that the drug was given to Derek at the start of a night of partying that also included heavy drinking. Aaron has also been charged with interfering with the scene of a death after he allegedly flushed the remainder of Derek's drugs down the toilet prior to police arriving on the scene. What was already a terrible story has unfortunately become even more tragic with this news.