A native of Saskatchewan, where he grew up in several different communities as the son of a Mountie, he was known primarily as a fighter and enforcer throughout his career, from junior hockey to the pros.
In 2007, he was voted as the second-most-intimidating player in the NHL, behind Georges Laraque,[2] who attributed his retirement in part to a desire to avoid the serious injury Boogaard could inflict, such as the cheekbone fracture Todd Fedoruk suffered that had to be repaired with metal plates.
"[3] His family encouraged him to play hockey as an outlet, and his father would often drive him to distant games in his police car, an experience Boogaard was to recall fondly later in his life.
In his early teens he stated that his goal in life was to play in the NHL, and idolized Wendel Clark, another Saskatchewan native who was at the time the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
They were impressed by Boogaard's boldness and offered him the chance to play junior hockey with the team, a first stop toward reaching the NHL.
[3] By the time he began his junior hockey career, Boogaard had realized that if he wanted to make it to the NHL, he would only be able to do so as an enforcer, since fighting was his strongest skill.
Early in his rookie season, he was traded to the Prince George Cougars after losing a fight in a game against the Kelowna Rockets.
[4] Boogaard played in 34 games with the Wild in the 2007–08 season, getting no points, while registering 74 PIM, the fourth highest total on the team.
He'd need 8 to 10 at a time to feel OK.[4] He found that the Wild's team doctors did not keep track of who had prescribed what, and eventually secured from eight of them prescriptions for 11 different drugs, most of them containing hydrocodone, such as Vicodin.
Placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season, he became a recluse in his midtown Manhattan apartment, enduring post-concussion syndrome.
Once a week he drove to the Long Island suburb of Huntington to illicitly buy thousands of dollars' worth of the same prescription medicines he was addicted to from a dealer there.
Aaron Boogaard, who visited his brother there, said the two often exercised and relaxed on the beach while Derek skipped meetings or therapy sessions.
Credit card records show that Boogaard spent $32,000 in two weeks there, including $1,200 on dinner one night and $5,000 renting a Porsche.
[5] Two months later, SLI doctor Ann McKee told the family in a conference call that Boogaard had indeed suffered from the ailment, with significant damage to his brain tissue.
His CTE was more advanced than that of another former NHL player, Bob Probert, an enforcer who had recently died at the age of 45, and likely would have led to middle-aged dementia had he lived.
[13] The charge was dismissed in October 2011,[14] at the same time he pleaded guilty to tampering with the scene of a death, a misdemeanor, since he had admitted to police that he had flushed the remaining pills down the toilet before they arrived.
Two similar deaths led to a debate over the issues faced by hockey enforcers and even their continuing role in the game, as well as the NHL's attitude toward the health problems resulting from concussions.
Boogaard's father has also expressed concern over the way his son's drug abuse was handled and possibly enabled by the teams he played for.
Don Cherry, a former Boston Bruins coach and former television commentator, responded by calling second-guessers such as Laraque "pukes" and "hypocrites".
[5] In December The New York Times devoted a lengthy three-part series to Boogaard's life and death that addressed many of the issues.
"There isn't a lot of data, and the experts who we talked to, who consult with us, think that it's way premature to be drawing any conclusions at this point," says commissioner Gary Bettman.
In its announcement of its findings, the SLI said: The association between Boogaard's brain pathology and his clinical symptoms, specifically the behavioural changes and memory problems he experienced in his last two years, is unclear.
[16]Len Boogaard, now in a desk job with the RCMP, has been investigating his son's drug use when he can, trying to see which of Derek's many prescriptions were justified, and finding out what his contacts knew.
When he visited Derek in New York a few months before his death, he was astounded to find out that his son was still getting prescriptions from team doctors despite his recent history of abuse and treatment.
"We worked very closely with Derek on and off the ice to provide him with the very best possible care," said general manager Glen Sather in a statement.
[5] In September 2012, the Boogaards filed a lawsuit against the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), in Los Angeles seeking $9.8 million in damages.
They alleged that the union was negligent in failing to file a grievance against the Rangers, as they advised the Boogaards they would, after their son's death for the balance of the money on his contract.
While it only named the NHLPA as a defendant, there was speculation that it would raise issues about the culpability of both teams, the league and the drug treatment facility that Boogaard attended.
[18] The NHL successfully moved to have the case removed to federal court in Chicago, which dismissed the suit in 2017 on procedural grounds.
[23] Anxiety over having to face Boogaard, even occasionally, and the possibility the younger man might inflict similar injuries on him, led Georges Laraque to retire.