Judge dismisses suit blaming NHL for Boogaard's death

The family of Derek Boogaard may have exhausted its last chance to bring suit against the National Hockey League after a federal judge's ruling.

Judge Gary Feinerman, of the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, dismissed the suit with prejudice. "Boogaard has had three opportunities to plead his claims ... and those three are enough," wrote Feinerman referring to Boogaard's father Len.

Derek Boogaard spent six punishing years in the NHL, five of them with the Minnesota Wild as an enforcer. At 6-feet-7 inches tall and 300 lbs, Boogaard was expected to stick up for his smaller teammates, even if that meant fighting.

New York Times sportswriter John Branch wrote a book on Boogaard's life and rough and tumble career. In it, he described how injuries took a toll on Boogaard's health. Branch wrote that the hockey player suffered multiple concussions as well as other injuries. And he said Boogaard became addicted to Oxycodone and Ambien.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner determined that Boogaard died from an accidental overdose of painkillers and alcohol on May 13, 2011.

Boogaard's family sued the NHL two years later, claiming the league was responsible for the brain damage he suffered from the concussions. Boogaard's father Len told the CBC in 2012 that the NHL ignored positive drug tests and reports of his son's prescription drug abuse.

In his ruling dismissing the suit, Feinerman also added, "Although judgment is entered in the NHL's favor, this opinion should not be read to commend how the NHL handled Boogaard's particular circumstances — or the circumstances of other NHL players who over the years have suffered injuries from on-ice play."

Attorneys for the league and Boogaard family have not returned calls for comment.