UK police finally make a judgement on death of former NHLer Adam Johnson

That last we heard in the South Yorkshire Police's investigation into the death of Nottingham Panthers (EIHL) forward Adam Johnson, the police announced that they had arrested an unnamed man, presumed to be Sheffield Steelers forward Matt Petgrave, on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with Johnson's death during a game.

Since then though, there had been barely been mention of where things stood in the case.

Today though, South Yorkshire Police announced that there will be no criminal charges in the case of Johnson's tragic death.

"The Crown and South Yorkshire Police have worked closely together to determine whether any criminal charges should be brought against the other ice hockey player involved.

"Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Adam Johnson."

He said the police investigation had been "thorough" and the Crown had undertaken a "comprehensive review of all the evidence".

Petgrave had been out on bail and under investigation for 17 months. He had maintained his innocence and claimed that what had had was a tragic accident.

Days after the tragic incident police made an announcement that they would be investigating Johnson's death. Frankly, that didn't surprise me because I would expect an investigation in any death, accidental or otherwise. In fact, criminologist Dr. Victoria Silverwood has confirmed as much on social media and actually laid out the reasons specifically why Petgrave has been arrested.

Check out this very informative Twitter thread from Dr. Silverwood:

To me, it's pretty clear that what happened between Johnson and Petgrave was a horrible accident, but not everyone sees it that way. Hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals on social media have chimed in with opinions that what they think Petgrave did was intentional and that he purposefully tried to kick Johnson in the throat. While I still fail to see this tragedy as anything other than a horrible accident, I can accept that not everyone sees things my way. 

In fact, one of Petgrave's former coaches is speaking out in concern and he feels that what Petgrave did may be intentional due to his history.

Finn Elmo Aittola was an assistant coach with HK Spisska Nova Ves of the Slovak Extraliga, where Petgrave played 34 games in 2021-22 and it's clear that Petgrave did not leave a good impression on his Finnish assistant coach.

Here's what Aittola had to say about Petgrave to Finnish newspaper Ilta Sanomat:

"I coached Matt for a very short stint. I wanted to get rid of him immediately."

"I had a very negative impression of him. He has no respect for himself or his opponents."

"He used to get into a bit of a mess. He is a very dirty player."

"Ifthere's a player I'm willing to believe could use a skate to stop an opponent, I believe Matt Petgrave could do it. He's an extremely reckless player."

- Elmo Aittola

Wow! Tell us how you really feel, bud!

Honestly, that's a pretty damning assessment of Petgrave's character, but I'm not sure it sways my opinion on this matter.

Regardless of whose skate blade ended up striking Johnson and their on-ice past, I still think this is a freak accident. Without agonizing over the physics of the play that resulted in Johnson's death, I don't think this could have been done intentionally. It sounds like investigators ultimately came to the same conclusion.