His death sent shockwaves throughout the hockey world.
Now, a man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter for the on-ice incident that killed Hibbing-native Adam Johnson.
Johnson died after a skate slashed his neck during a game in England two weeks ago. The man has not been charged.
It would be rare, but not unprecedented, for a hockey player to be charged with a crime. Officers in England say they launched this investigation immediately after Johnson's death.
"I know every way a player moves, falls, reacts out there and what happened on this particular play looked out of place to me," said former professional hockey player Brian Lawton.
Lawton was the first American-born hockey player to be drafted first overall in the National Hockey League to the Minnesota North Stars. He also was a general manager, TV analyst and player agent and says a contract only provides so much protection. He said what happened to Johnson wasn't intentional.
"It wasn't done with the intent to cause this type of harm," said Lawton. "It was, just in my opinion, reckless."
Johnson was playing for England's Elite Hockey League. Video shows him getting struck in the neck by another player's skate who was falling to the ice. Investigators aren't naming the man they've since arrested, only saying on Tuesday that he's still in custody.
Some lawyers argue what led to Johnson's death is well beyond the contact players consent to.
"It's called a voluntary assumption of risk; they voluntarily assume certain risk," said Eric Macramalla. He's a partner at an international law firm for over 20 years, a sports legal analyst and teaches sports law at the University of Ottawa.
"Sometimes courts will not intervene, but they will intervene if someone was grossly negligent and did something that was so clearly out of bounds with respect to how that sport is played," said Macramalla.
Since his death, there have been many memorials for Johnson who also played for Minnesota Duluth.
Neck guards also sold out across the country, but so far, the National Hockey League has yet to make them mandatory. The English Ice Hockey Association is requiring players wear neck guards next year.
"Everybody knows there's inherent risk for it, so is it on the top of athlete's minds, generally not," said Lawton.
As for police, they say they're continuing to work with highly specialized experts to piece together the events leading to Johnson's death, and at the same time, supporting his family.
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