Several NHL players have participated in the treatment program in recent years.
Patrik Laine is sidelined from Columbus Blue Jackets puck activities for the time being. Petri Saarelainen / AOP
The NHL club Columbus Blue Jackets announced on Sunday that the Finnish forward Patrick Laine participates in the treatment program of the NHL and the NHL players association NHLPA.
The NHL and NHLPA support program was established in 1996. The support program is intended for all players and their family members.
The program is intended to help people who suffer from mental health problems, drug addiction or other problems.
The player or the club has no obligation to inform if the player participates in the support program. However, some have openly talked about it. For example, in the case of Laine, Columbus did not inform why Laine entered the program.
A person participating in the support program receives help from at least a confidential telephone line and a support program advisor appointed in each NHL city.
The duration of the program is case-specific and the player can only end the program when he receives permission to do so. Players get paid for the duration of their participation in the program.
Many others
Along with Laine, perhaps the most famous player who recently participated in the support program and told the public about it is the superstar of the Montreal Canadiens, the goalkeeper Carey Price.
Price resorted to the program voluntarily at the end of 2021. At that time, it was only reported that Price would participate in the support program. Later, the man himself told the public that he wanted to join the program because of substance addiction.
Price has a contract until 2026, but the man has not played since the 2021-22 season.
Several players have gone through the program in recent years.
He also once participated in the NHL’s support program due to substance abuse Jere Karalahti. Karalahti later said that he did not agree to complete the program at the time. It was practically the death blow to the defenseman’s NHL career.
Criticism
The support program has also received criticism. Former NHL goaltender Scott Darling35, criticizes the program at the end of the year.
– I told the players what I went through. If you need help, you should do it yourself. “Don’t ever turn to the players association,” Darling said on the podcast Yahoo by.
Darling claimed that participating in the program risks terminating the player’s contract.
– If you walk out the door, the NHL can cancel your contract, Darling claimed.
According to an anonymous player-agent interviewed by Yahoo, leaving the program without permission could in some cases allow the contract to be terminated, but it could still lead to a long and complicated dispute between the parties.