Roman Lyashenko

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Roman Lyashenko (May 2, 1979 – July 5, 2003) was a Russian hockey player.

Born in Murmansk, he started his career in the NHL with the Dallas Stars during the 1999-2000 season. He went to the Stanley Cup Finals that season, but his team was defeated by the New Jersey Devils in six games. He played with Dallas until he was traded to the New York Rangers, along with Martin Rucinsky, in exchange for Manny Malhotra and Barrett Heisten on March 12, 2002. He spent the rest of the season with the Rangers.

The following year, he played only two games with the New York Rangers while spending the majority of that season with their farm team, the Hartford Wolf Pack. On July 7, 2003, he was found dead in a hotel room in Turkey where he was vacationing with his mother and sister -- it was reported that he took his own life.

Apparently, he had tried to slit his wrists, then hanged himself with a belt. One source to the Rangers was heard saying he did it because of "lack of playing time." Others say that the suicide was motivated because he contracted an incurable disease; some reports have said he had contracted AIDS.^{[citation needed]}

He is interred at Leontyevskoe Cemetery in Yaroslavl, Russia.