Steve Montador's Family to Sue NHL Following CTE Findings After Death

The family of former NHL defenseman Steve Montador is planning to sue the league after an examination of his brain following his death earlier this year found he was dealing with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Katie Strang of ESPN.com reports the health issue affects the brain and has been linked with individuals who have suffered multiple concussions. She also included a statement from the longtime player's father about the impact it had on his son:

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First and foremost, our family has forever lost a son, brother, uncle and father. Many others have lost a great friend. The finding of widespread CTE in Steven's brain helps us all better understand that his brain was ravaged by disease and he was unable to control it. Through hard work and dedication, Steven achieved his big dream of playing professional hockey in the NHL. He always knew that there might be black eyes, broken bones and soft tissue injuries -- but he never anticipated that playing the game he loved would result in such devastating impairment of his brain function. CTE changed everything.

"

William Gibbs of the Corboy & Demetrio law firm confirmed to ESPN.com the family was planning to file suit. It isn't yet known where or when that would take place. The group also represents the family of Derek Boogaard, another former NHL player, in a wrongful death lawsuit.

The NHL isn't the only league dealing with concerns related to CTE. Jason M. Breslow of PBS reported that a study of 79 former NFL players found almost all of them (76) showed evidence of degenerative brain disease.

In both sports, players are subject to consistent contact with the head. Although the leagues have been working in recent years to lessen those dangerous situations, it's hard to measure the impact of those efforts this early in the process.

Montador and Boogaard were both physical players who delivered a lot of hits and got involved in their fair share of fights as well.

Now, the question is whether the NHL is at fault for not better protecting players against the dangers involved with playing a sport featuring a lot of physical contact.