Former Pittsburgh Penguins right winger Konstantin Koltsov of Minsk, Belarus passed away at the age of 42 on Monday according to Anna Lazarus Caplan of People Magazine on Tuesday. Koltsov played three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2002-03, 2003-04, 2005-06, and was also recently known as the boyfriend of women’s tennis star and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Minsk, Belarus.
How did Koltsov die?
People Magazine confirmed the Miami-Dade Police Department put out a statement that a male jumped off a balcony at Miami’s Bal Harbour Resort in the middle of the night on Monday, and that Koltsov died of an apparent suicide. He was in Miami to support Sabalenka, the second seed in the Miami Open, one of the elite events on the tennis calendar.
Koltsov’s Career Statistics
Koltsov had 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 points in 144 National Hockey League regular season games. He had 50 penalty minutes, six power-play points, two shorthanded points, three game-winning goals, and 199 shots on goal.
Koltsov’s shorthanded goal came in a 5-1 Penguins win over the Florida Panthers at the BankAtlantic Center in south Florida. Koltsov opened the scoring at 8:32 of the first period from defenseman Sergei Gonchar of Chelyabinsk, Russia and Ryan Malone of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Koltsov’s shorthanded assist came in a 6-1 Penguins win over the New York Islanders at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena. Koltsov helped set up defenseman Josef Melichar of Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic at 11:34 of the third period. At the time, the Penguins went up 5-1.
Will Sabalenka still compete at the Miami Open?
Sabalenka, who won the 2023 and 2024 Australian Open, is set to compete against Paula Badosa of Spain in the second round of the Miami Open on Friday. Badosa is coming off a first round Miami win over two-time grand slam champion Simona Halep of Romania, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Badosa and Sabalenka have beaten each other twice head-to-head.
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