This is a list of ice hockey players who died during their playing careers.

Player deaths

Before 1930

Age Player Nationality Date of death Cause of death Notes 28 horse riding accident Member of the Winnipeg Victorias; won Stanley Cup in February 1896 in a challenge match against the Montreal Victorias. 24 hit by train Member of the Columbia ice hockey team. 20 acute peritonitis Member of the MIT men's ice hockey team and club president. 24 horse riding accident Member of the Ottawa Silver Seven, captain of the Ottawa Rough Riders; brother of Frank McGee. 23 complications from on-ice injury Member of 1902 and 1903 Montreal Hockey Club Stanley Cup champions. 24 The Killing of Alcide Laurin in a Hockey Match at Maxville The Ottawa Journal, page 1, February 27, 1905 on-ice head injury He received what The Ottawa Journal claimed on February 25, 1905, was an accidental stick blow to the head by 19-year-old Allan Loney, a player on a rival team from Maxville, Ontario. 22 on-ice head injury Murder charges were laid against other players in game in Cornwall, Ontario. There were no convictions. 28 open water diving accident Member of Montreal Wanderers, Stanley Cup champion in 1906 and 1907. All-star benefit game held for family. Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. on-ice chest injury Stanley Cup winner with Ottawa Senators in 1909. 23 pneumonia Played professionally for Portland Rosebuds. PCHA champion in 1916. 32 influenza Played nine seasons for the Ottawa Senators, likely the first-ever NHL player death. 23 plane crash Played three seasons for MIT. Enlisted in the United States Army Air Service after his junior year. 37 Spanish flu Member of Montreal Canadiens and former long-time member of Quebec Bulldogs. Led NHL in penalty minutes in both seasons played. Had played professionally since 1906. Died during 1919 Stanley Cup Final. Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. 21 car accident Member of Princeton's ice hockey team. 22 blood poisoning Played two seasons in the Western Canada Hockey League from 1921 to 1923 with the Calgary Tigers. Died during opening road trip to start 1923–24 WCHL season. 19 Cerebral blood clot due to an on-ice injury Member of Princeton's freshman ice hockey team. 34 ruptured appendix Played thirteen seasons for the Ottawa Senators. Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. 20 car accident Member of St. Thomas's ice hockey team. Died when the car he was a passenger in was sideswiped by a streetcar in Superior, Wisconsin. 39 tuberculosis Played sixteen seasons with the Montreal Canadiens from 1910–11 to winning the Stanley Cup twice, Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and namesake of the National Hockey League's Vezina Trophy. On November 28, 1925, the Canadiens' first game of the 1925–26 season, Vezina ran a temperature of 102°. He collapsed in the crease during the second period, never again returned to play, and died on the last day of that NHL season. 26 on-ice skull fracture Played two professional seasons, in Hamilton (Can-Pro) and Niagara (IHL). Collided with a teammate and left the ice unassisted. He checked into a nearby hospital, where he died the following morning. 25 drowning Played three seasons in the NHL from 1925 to 1929 with the Montreal Maroons and Toronto Maple Leafs. Stanley Cup champion in 1926. Drowned while attempting to swim to shore during a sudden storm that capsized his boat; two friends and a local guide survived. complications from throat surgery Three year player for Clarkson. Elected team captain at the conclusion of his third season.

1930–1969 Age Player Nationality Date of death Cause of death Notes 26 diving accident Played three seasons and 78 games in the NHL from 1926 to 1929–30 for the New York Americans and Detroit Cougars. 29 brain hemorrhage Goaltender for the Chicago Black Hawks for seven seasons from 1926–27 until 1933–34, the year they won the Stanley Cup; Gardiner was a multiple award winner, winning the Vezina Trophy twice, and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. 24 drowning Played 37 games for the Chicago Black Hawks in 1933–34. Body found in the Assiniboine River without his wallet or other valuables. Stanley Cup champion in 1934. 30 unknown Played five seasons and 109 games for the Chicago Black Hawks and Toronto Maple Leafs from 1927–28 to 1931–32. Stanley Cup champion in 1932. 34 complications from leg injury Played 14 seasons and 550 games in the National Hockey League, most notably with the Montreal Canadiens, from 1923–24 to 1936–37; generally regarded as the best player of his era, he won two scoring championships, three Hart Trophies and three Stanley Cup championships; The Canadiens retired his number 7; member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. 24 World War II casualty Played four championship seasons with McGill University; most valuable player of Quebec Senior Hockey League in 1938–39. Turned down pro offers from New York Rangers to serve in Royal Canadian Navy. Played one season at Illinois, led program to an Intercollegiate championship. 31 fall from balcony Played three seasons and 30 games for the Detroit Red Wings from 1936 to 1940. 34 plane crash Played for LTC Praha from 1934 to 1948. 23 plane crash Mellups was the starting goaltender of the first-ever Soviet national team game. Played several seasons in the Soviet League for VVS Moscow, which lost 11 players in the 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash. 27 Played several seasons in the Soviet League for Dinamo Riga. Joined VVS Moscow in 1949. 24 1947 Soviet Championship bronze medal winner. 1948 Soviet Championship silver medal winner. 30 1947 Soviet Championship gold medal winner. 1948 Soviet Championship bronze medal winner. 33 1947 Soviet Championship bronze medal winner. 1948 Soviet Championship silver medal winner. 27 Brother of hall of fame player Anatoli Tarasov. 28 30 car crash Played two seasons and 15 games in the NHL from 1942 to 1946 for the Detroit Red Wings. 24 plane crash His plane crashed in 1951 but investigators did not find the crash until 1962. Played five seasons and won the Stanley Cup four times with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1947 to 1951, and scored the legendary cup-winning goal in overtime of game five in the 1951 finals; the Leafs retired his number 5. Inspired the song "Fifty Mission Cap" by The Tragically Hip. 26 drowning Played three seasons and 77 games in the NHL from 1949 to 1952 for the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens; Les Cunningham Award recipient as AHL MVP for his performance during 1954–55, his last season. 28 lung cancer Played eight seasons and 306 games in the National Hockey League from 1956–57 to 1964–65 winning the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1961; he also played for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. 22 car crash Five-time all-star defenseman in SM-sarja. In 1995, the trophy of top rookie of SM-liiga was renamed the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy. Played three games for the Detroit Red Wings in 1964–65. 29 on-ice head injury Played 30 games in the 1967–68 NHL season with the Minnesota North Stars and is the only player in NHL history to be killed as a direct result of an on-ice incident; the NHL annually awards the Bill Masterton Trophy in his honour, and the North Stars retired his number 19. 27 brain tumor All-American, helped Michigan Tech win a National Championship in 1962. 22 heart failure Defenceman who played for Spartak Moscow. Champion of USSR (1967), European champion (1968), World champion (1968), champion of Olympic Games (1968). Died during training. 29 coronary thrombosis Played eight seasons in American Hockey League. Died on the ice during the first practice of the New York Rangers training camp, held in Kitchener, Ontario. Won 1959 Memorial Cup with Winnipeg Braves. 22 car crash Defenseman who played two seasons with the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern Hockey League. Crupi passed away after his vehicle lost control and hit a guard rail then a pole. The Mike Crupi Most Determined Player Award is an annual honor presented to a player on the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team.GopherSports.com: Team Award Winners (Mike Crupi Most Determined Player Award)

1970–1989