Prosecutor's office releases final report into death of Matiss Kivlenieks
Five months after the death of Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks, the Prosecutor's Office in Oakland County, Michigan now considers the case closed. No charges will be laid against anyone as a result.
Kivlenieks died at the home of Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace on July 4th. It was first believed that Kivlenieks slipped while getting out of the hot tub and hit his head. It later came to light that he had taken a fireworks mortar to the chest and died as a result of the trauma.
The Prosecutor's office has ruled the death accidental. Police have said the firework tilted slightly and started to fire toward people nearby. Therefore, the case is now considered officially closed. The Prosecutor's office had initially said they wanted to take a look at the case due to its high profile nature.
Kivlenieks had signed with Columbus as a free agent in 2017. He had played a total of eight NHL games. Teammate and fellow goalie Elvis Merzlikins has stated that Kivlenieks had jumped in the way of the firework, saving himself and his fiance from being hit by it.
Source: SooToday
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YESTERDAY
MAY 24, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Karlsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mark Stone | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Kaedan Korczak | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Devon Toews | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Keegan Kolesar | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Coghlan | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Parker Kelly | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Manson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Martin Necas | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Shea Theodore | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||