Tragedy strikes Blues forward Jaden Schwartz

Tragedy has the Schwartz family yet again.

Rick Schwartz, father of St. Louis Blues star Jaden Schwartz, passed away suddenly yesterday.

No word on what the cause of death was, but we'll grant the family some privacy and prevent ourselves from digging any further. Suffice it to say this is an absolutely heartbreaking thing for Jaden and the entire Schwartz family to experience.

You may recall that Jaden's sister, Mandi Schwartz, a star player with Yale's women's hockey team passed away in 2011 from a form of leukemia. At the risk of putting Jaden at the center of this all, the young man has lost his sister and his father and he's just 28 years old himself. It's hard not to feel for the guy. By all account Jaden is a fantastic young man on and off the ice, as well. Again, it's hard not to feel for the guy whether you're a Blues fan or not.

RIP, Rick.