Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins Offer Update on Ben Kindel’s Health Following Scary Plane Incident

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ben Kindel collapsed on a team plane about 10 minutes into the flight. Here is the latest on his health.

by
NHL Trade Talk
October 22, 2026

There was a scary incident this week as Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ben Kindel collapsed on a team plane about 10 minutes into the flight. The plane was rerouted back to Salt Lake City, where Kindel was rushed to a nearby medical facility for testing. It was said not long after that he was doing OK, but an official health update hadn’t been provided.

The Penguins spoke on Thursday and offered up some positive news.

GM and President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, said that Kindel regained consciousness after receiving oxygen on the plane. He was cleared to travel back to Pittsburgh. Two doctors, Nick Bonino and Jason Spezza, stayed with him in Utah. “On Tuesday, about 10 minutes into the team’s return flight from Salt Lake City to Pittsburgh, Ben [Kindel] collapsed on the team plane in what has been diagnosed as a vasovagal episode.” For those unaware, that’s a temporary loss of consciousness caused by a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure, which reduces blood flow to the brain.

It can be triggered by prolonged standing or sitting, heat exposure or dehydration, the sight of blood, blood draws or injections, intense emotional stress, fear, or pain, or straining during a bowel movement, cough, or urination. Warning signs usually appear 30 to 60 seconds before an episode and may include dizziness or lightheadedness, sudden warmth or cold, clammy sweats, nausea, pale skin, tunnel or blurred vision, and ringing in the ears. During an episode, a person generally loses consciousness for less than a minute and may seem briefly confused, with eyes open and rolled back or minor twitching movements.

“Ben was given oxygen on the flight, regained consciousness and the determination was that the flight needed to be landed back in Salt Lake City.”

Dubas added, “Ben was cleared yesterday to travel back to Pittsburgh. He is back in the building for treatment and further testing today. We’ll place him on injured reserve, and we will obviously follow very strict guidelines to ensure a safe return to training and play for Ben. That’s our primary goal and paramount to his future and health.”

Kindel has played in nine games this season and has two goals and two assists.

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