Latvian star Astashenko dead at 37

The Latvian Hockey Federation announced Friday that Kaspars Astashenko died. He was 37.

The defenseman played 23 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning between 1999 and 2001, scoring one goal and two assists.

At the international level, Astashenko scored one goal and three assists in 13 games for the Latvian national team. He skated for his country at many international events, among them the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and the 2006 IIHF World Championships in his hometown of Riga, Latvia.