Columbus Blue Jackets Goalie Matiss Kivlenieks Dies At 24

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks has tragically passed away at age 24. The Blue Jackets confirmed the news through a team statement. In it, they state that his death was from a head injury due to a fall.

Although his tenure with the NHL club was short, Kivlenieks was pushing his way into a full-time spot with the Blue Jackets. He would go on to play eight NHL games. In them, he went 2-2-2 with a 3.09 goals against average and .899 save percentage. He was showing significant progress, but had trouble cementing himself into the lineup because of the Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins goalie tandem.

The Blue Jackets signed Kivlenieks during the 2017 off-season. He would become a big part of their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, very quickly. His success there showed that he was capable of competing at the NHL level. His journey to the NHL was a nice one, especially when seeing as how he was originally undrafted.

This is just an immensely sad day for all of hockey.

Update: The Associated Press has released more information. Kivlenieks passed away Sunday night in Michigan after quickly leaving a hot tub due to a fireworks accident. After exiting the hot tub, Kivlenieks slipped and tragically hit his head on the concrete. He would then be transported to the hospital and was pronounced dead.

Second Update: The Associated Press has now reported that Kivlenieks' cause of death is not from the head injury he sustained. The Oakland Medical Examiner's office has concluded that Kivleniaks died of chest trauma from the fireworks mortar.