Columbus Blue Jackets goalie dies after fall in fireworks accident

Matiss Kivlenieks, a candidate to be the Columbus Blue Jackets’ future starting goaltender, died in Michigan after fleeing a hot tub and hitting his head following a Fourth of July fireworks accident, police said Monday. He was 24.

Police in Novi, Michigan, said a mortar-style firework tilted slightly and started to fire toward people nearby Sunday night. Kivlenieks was in the hot tub and tried to get clear with several other people, but the young Latvian slipped and hit his head on concrete, police Lt. Jason Meier said.

The fire department and EMTs got to the private home shortly after 10 p.m. and took him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Meier said. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.

“At the moment, we’re pretty certain this was a tragic accident,” Meier said.

The Blue Jackets and Latvian Hockey Federation announced Kivlenieks’ death, with the NHL club saying it resulted from an apparent head injury in a fall. The team’s statement made no mention of fireworks.

Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen tweeted: “Life is so precious and can be so fragile. Hug your loved ones today. RIP Matiss, you will be dearly missed.” Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson called it a “devastating time” for the team.

“Kivi was an outstanding young man who greeted every day and everyone with a smile and the impact he had during his four years with our organization will not be forgotten,” he said.

“What a tragic loss for all of us who knew him and I am thinking and praying for his family,” former Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno tweeted. “Heaven gained a darn good goalie and better person… Just, way too soon.”

Former Columbus defenseman David Savard learned of it from Foligno.

“That was a brutal wakeup this morning,” Savard said in French. “That was a good kid with a lot of talent who was going to be a part of the team next year or in the future. That’s extremely sad.”

Kivlenieks’ death came on the eve of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in Montreal, where the Tampa Bay Lightning had a chance to clinch the championship against the Canadiens on Monday night.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Kivlenieks’ “love for life and passion for the game will be deeply missed by all those who have been fortunate to have him as a teammate and a friend.”

The Latvian Hockey Federation called Kivlenieks’ death “a great loss not only for Latvian hockey but for the entire Latvian nation.”

Kivlenieks most recently represented Latvia this spring at the world hockey championship in which he played four games. He played two games for the Blue Jackets and eight for the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters this past season.

A native of Riga, Latvia, Kivlenieks signed with the Blue Jackets as a free agent in May 2017 and played eight games for the club overall.

Kivlenieks was at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington last Tuesday as a guest of IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi.

Rossi announced that day he was going to race the Baja 1000 in Mexico in November, and Kivlenieks took a ride around Mid-Ohio in a Honda Ridgeline to help promote both Rossi and Sunday’s IndyCar race.

“This hits hard,” Rossi tweeted. “Prayers to the family and the team.”

Associated Press writer Kathleen Foody and AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer contributed to this article.