Report: Ex-Islanders captain Kenny Jönsson suffering from intestinal infection and blood poisoning in Sweden

Former Islanders captain Kenny Jönsson has been going through some very serious health issues for the last few weeks, according to a report in Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

Jönsson, 41, was rushed to the hospital by ambulance earlier this month while coaching a youth team at the TV-Puck hockey tournament, after feeling ill and vomiting in his hotel room. He was later diagnosed with an infection in his small intestine, which then resulted in blood poisoning. Jönsson was placed in intensive care, and was also suffering from dehydration and sepsis, a condition that often follow an infection.

Doctors believe Jönsson had the infection for a while, but chose to continue coaching at the tournament.

In the following weeks, Jönsson's health has progressed only slightly. He's home now in Skane, but is unable to keep food down and has lost a great deal of weight, while the four-inch cut doctors needed to make into his stomach isn't healing properly. The wound requires a redressing every three days.

Despite the pain, he's up and around and is using time with his kids and cooking to help him feel a little better, according to his wife.

He is very interested in cooking and at the moment we get a lot of fish on the table. Kenny is good at cooking and he likes to use our steam oven. Kitchen work has gotten a little therapy for him, says Anne-Lee.

The family is hoping to get x-rays within the next month to find out exactly what's wrong with Kenny. As of now, he's too sick to even receive proper care at a hospital.

Defenseman Jönsson served as the Islanders captain in 1999-2000 and was named to the 1999 NHL All Star Game, but could not play because of an injury. He collected 232 points in 597 games as an Islander, mostly as the best defenseman - if not the best player - on some really really bad teams. He was acquired from the Maple Leafs in a multi-player trade that included Wendel Clark in 1996 and left the Islanders for his native Sweden in 2004. He officially announced his retirement in 2009 and was named to the Islanders Hall of Fame in February of 2012.

Naturally, classy Kenny wore a tux.

We wish Kenny all the best and a speedy return to health. He's considered a legend in Swedish hockey and his efforts and composure on this side of the Atlantic haven't been forgotten by Islanders fans who watched him give everything he had during a very rough time for the franchise. Get better, KJ.

(Huge thanks to Zeb from Habs Eyes on the Prize for alerting us to this story and for much-needed help with the translations.)