former NHL player Steven Pete died at 44 following tragic accident heartbroken former hockey player Steven Pete has died following a tragic accident he was 44 the Alumni Association confirmed the former Washington capital's forwards death via and post on Thursday September 12th the NHL Alumni Association is heartbroken to learn that Steven Pete has passed away from his injuries after a tragic accident just over two weeks ago he was only 44 years old the postread Steven was drafted 32nd overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 1998 in 2000 he was traded to the capitals and would play in 130 regular season games scoring 10 points for the franchise Pete finished his pro career in the following the 2006 to 2007 season while the details of what occurred in the accident were not disclosed the post revealed that Pete was an organ donor in the wake of this tragic accident Steven will be helping to save numerous lives through organ donation the post continued we send our deepest condolences to Steven's family friends and former teammates during this difficult time sharing the original post by the the Washington Capitals also sent their condolences to Pete's loved ones via the team's official account the Washington Capitals extend their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of former capitals player Steven Pete Pete played 130 games games in the National Hockey League all with Washington from 2105 the post read our thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time hockey fans paid tribute to Pete after discovering the sad news and responded to the social media posts rip loved him on the Caps his fight against PJ stock has to be one of the best fights ever wrote one fan while another added that dude was tough as Nails another wrote too many hockey guys passing this year are they building a professional hockey league in heaven this needs to stop Pete was drafted into Canada's Western Hockey League at 15 and enjoyed a successful hockey career until giving up the skates aged 26 in 2006 after retirement Peete grappled with homelessness and depression as well as physical health issues he believed stemmed from concussions sustained while playing the sport in an interview with the New York Times in 2016 Pete shared he was concerned about an early death due to the blows to his head on the ice and was critical of the sports effects on his life hockey's been the greatest thing in my life but it's also been the worst thing in my life Pete told the outlet it was great while I was playing but what has it done lately my peers of enforcers have become statistics and the NHL is in denial they're denying that the job I did even existed even though I sacrific my quality of life my well-being and my future greatly by being there for my teammates in the present in 2019 Pete spoke again of his struggles postretirement in an interview with the National Post when the curtain goes down no one sees that part no one's cheering me on right now you know he told the outlet at the time they don't see the struggles