An image from a fundraiser in memory of Shawn Simpson. An image from a fundraiser in memory of Shawn Simpson. (TheRoyal.crowdchange.ca.)
NHLPodcastsRadioBy Andrew Bucholtz on

The hockey community lost a beloved member this week. Shawn Simpson, who had a remarkable career in the sport as a player, scout, executive, and media personality, passed away suddenly at 56.

Details weren’t released, but, in tributes to Simpson, many discussed how he’d openly talked about his battles with mental health. In particular, fellow Ottawa media figure and colleague Brent Wallace talked about how he and another former TSN colleague, Ian Mendes, helped Simpson get some treatment back in August.

Simpson had a prominent playing career as a goalie, playing junior with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL, being part of the Canadian world juniors team in 1987 (and, as sportswriter Gare Joyce relayed this week, serving as the inspiration for Joyce’s 2006 When The Lights Went Out book on the infamous “Punch-up in Piestany” brawl between that team and the Soviet Union team), and being selected in the third round of the 1986 draft by the Washington Capitals. His playing career ended soon after due to injuries, but he transitioned to the media world, serving as the Caps’ TV analyst for two seasons before joining the organization as a scout.

In 1997, Simpson was promoted to become the Capitals’ assistant general manager and director of hockey operations. He kept working there through 2004 before leaving to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as a scout but was fired from that role in an organizational shakeup in 2008. In 2009, he went overseas as the deputy director of hockey operations for Dynamo Minsk in the KHL.

Simpson then led the IJHL’s Cape Cod Cubs before returning to media in 2012 on The Team 1200 in Ottawa (now TSN 1200). He worked there through 2023 before being laid off as part of wide-ranging Bell layoffs. His decision to openly discuss his mental health challenges on their airwaves, including around the Bell Let’s Talk day, prompted praise from many, including Simpson’s former radio co-host and TSN 1200 programming director John Rodenburg.

“He had constant mental health struggles, and he was open and honest about it,” John Rodenburg, the program director at TSN1200 who was a morning show co-host with Simpson for years, told Don Brennan of The Ottawa Sun. “I think that’s what made him so popular on the radio. He was himself, good and bad, and when he spoke about his struggles with mental health and the fact that he didn’t try to hide it, I think that really spoke to a lot of people.”

“We had a Bell ‘Let’s Talk Day’ and those were some of the best shows we ever did,” said Rodenburg. “It was because he really spoke from his heart because he’s lived it. We would hear from a ton of people, and I think that his legacy, at least that part of it, will be the amount of people that he helped, both those that we heard from, which was quite a few, but also the vast majority of people you’d never hear from. If somebody picked up a phone called a family member that they had, or called a friend and just said, ‘Hey, I need to talk. I’m struggling.’ I think that will be his legacy from his time on the radio.”

In addition to Wallace’s post (viewable in full here), Mendes and many others offered their own social media tributes to Simpson.

Our thoughts go out to Simpson’s family and friends. In memory of him, a fundraiser at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Center (part of their work with the Do It For Daron initiative, in memory of NHL player and coach Luke Richardson’s son Daron, who died by suicide at 14 in 2010) has already raised more than $10,000 Canadian.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health National Helpline can be reached at 1-800-662-4357. The National Suicide Hotline can be reached at 1-800-784-2433 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

View all posts by Andrew Bucholtz