Mental health of players, both during and after their careers

Derek Boogaard

With the recent untimely passing of Winnipeg Jets' forward Rick Rypien, I am pleased to see that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has adamantly stated that the League will review its programs for handling both substance abuse and behavioral health programs which are utilized to promote and foster overall strong mental health among the NHL's players accompanied by positive decision making. With the passing of both Rypien and New York Rangers forward Derek Boogaard only months apart, there is obvious cause for concern that the players, just like all people, may need assistance in coping with and handling the strains of everyday life, along with the inherent stress of fame and fortune.

Tom Cavanagh

Sadly, Rypien and Boogaard are not the only hockey players to have been lost to us too young and too soon at the hands of substance abuse or bouts with depression and mental health. Perhaps lesser publicized than Rypien's and Boogard's passings, was the death of former San Jose Sharks forward and Harvard University graduate, Tom Cavanagh, who apparently took his own life in January 2011.

Cavanagh had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been insitutionalized several times during the last months of his life.

Former NHL enforcer and Stanley Cup champion John Kordic died of a drug overdose in the summer of 1992 at the young age of 27. Kordic, one of the most feared enforcers of his time, recorded 997 penalty minutes in only 244 career regular season games. Kordic was one of the many youngsters that contributed to the Montreal Canadiens run to the Cup in 1986, appearing in 18 playoff games that year including all 5 games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Former New York Rangers' and Dallas Stars' forward Roman Lyashenko took his own life during the summer of 2003 while vacationing with his mother and sister in Antalya, Turkey. Many feel that he had difficulty coping with life in North America, far away from home in his native Russia.

And a handful of other players lost their lives in car accidents where large amounts of alcohol had been involved, including superstar goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, defenseman Steve Chiasson and former St. Louis Blues player Bob Gassoff.

Bob Gassoff

The deaths of all of the aforementioned players stand from Gassoff's passing in the late-1970s until this summer with the deaths of Rypien and Boogaard, so there is an obvious ongoing need to supply NHL players with the proper support and counseling on making wise decisions in life and providing medical support and treatment to the players who may be battling mental illness and depression. But my concern comes in for the players who have retired and have put their playing days behind them. I fear that maybe once a player retires, which in and of itself is a major life-decision and major career-decision that may bring about large amounts of stress and anxiety, that there may not be that support that a person, whether a hockey player or not, would need in life when taking such a major step. For there have been numerous retired hockey players to have either taken their own lives or lost their lives to substance abuse long AFTER their playing days have ended.

Larry Mickey

For example, former NHL journeyman Larry Mickey committed suicide at the age of 38 in July 1982; 7-years after his last game in the NHL. Mickey had lost his first wife in a fatal car-accident in which he was behind the wheel in 1967. In 1982, with his second marriage on the rocks and his career over with having been shortened by injuries and a lack of natural talent, Mickey took his own life. Those close to Mickey believed that he simply could not cope with life after hockey.

A former 50-goal scorer in the NHL while with the Quebec Nordiques, Jacques Richard, played a troubled career and had lived a troubled life. Though Richard had great potential and was slated to be a premier player, he faced injuries during his career which was further marred by bouts with alcoholism, gambling and even cocaine. Having played with the Atlanta Flames, Buffalo Sabres and Quebec, Richard's career was over in 1983. 6-years later, Richard would be arrested for attempted cocaine smuggling and sentenced to 7-years in prison. Richard would eventually die in a car-crash on his 50th birthday after a day of drinking.

Theoren Fleury

As documented in his 2009 book Playing with Fire former NHL superstar Theoren Fleury battled alcohol abuse, drug abuse and depression throughout his playing career and in the years following (not to mention the sexual abuse that he fell victim to at a young age). Fleury, who doesn't receive the accolades he truly deserves in my opinion for being the phenomenal hockey player that he was, has turned his life around for the better and even attempted a comeback with the Calgary Flames.

Considering the tragic lives of these players after their playing days were over, not to mention numerous other players who faced similar problems post-hockey, I think that the League also needs to consider including treatment plans and programs for retired players after they decide to retire in order to help acclimate them to life after hockey. I give full props to the NHL for wanting to better help their present young players in leading healthier lives both mentally and physically, but there also should be options for players who have retired and are having difficulty with moving on with life once they have left hockey. Perhaps some type of grief and loss counseling or programs, open to players who have retired and need to seek help in living life once they have left the game. The NHL should not forget their players of past seasons, and should look out for them with the same care and concern that they do with their present day players. For it would appear that individuals troubled with substance abuse and mental health concerns during their playing days are maybe even more susceptible to troubled personal lives when their playing days are over.