Former Boston Bruins enforcer Lyndon Byers, who died in 2025 at 61, was found to have suffered from stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) later in his life.
That announcement resulted from a post-mortem brain tissue analysis performed by researchers through the Concussion and CTE Foundation.
According to a Boston Herald report, Byers’ family donated his brain to the UNITE Brain Bank at Boston University (BU). Anne Byers, his wife of 18 years, released the results to the public to raise awareness of the trauma one can experience with CTE.
She described Lyndon Byers’ late-life cognitive and mood changes — depression, hallucinations, and short-term memory loss — that affected daily functioning and signaled a dramatic personality shift.
“I will do whatever I can to make sure nobody else has to watch their loved one deteriorate like that,” she said in a statement shared with the Boston Herald.
During his career with the Bruins, Byers racked up 959 penalty minutes from 1983 to 1992 and was a member of the Bruins teams that advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1988 and 1990. He wrapped up his NHL career with the San Jose Sharks.
According to the Herald, a BU study of 20 former NHL players found signs of CTE in 19 brains, including notable names like Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Derek Boogaard. A 2024 study by the BU center revealed that the odds of developing CTE jump by 34% for every year of hockey played.
Anne Byers has been critically vocal about the NHL’s handling of head injuries, calling out NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for denying any link between playing in the NHL and CTE.
“The NHL can do better to protect its players’ safety,” she stated in her husband’s medical release. “Athletes deserve to know what head injuries can do so they can make informed decisions about their bodies and work in an environment that supports their health first.”