Classy move from rivals towards Jonathan Drouin

Before the 2021-22 season got underway, Montreal Canadiens’ Jonathan Drouin explained how he left the team last April due to insomnia caused by his anxiety. He informed fans that he had been dealing with the issue for many years, and his breaking point came during a road trip last season.

Drouin missed the entire Canadien’s run to the Stanley Cup final, which they ended up losing in five games to the Lightning in Tampa Bay. Back in late April, the Canadiens announced that Drouin would take an indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. Then-teammate Phillip Danault, also a French-speaking player from the province of Quebec, had opened up about what might be hurting Drouin and how serious this is, speaking about bullying and mental health issues. It was clear that Drouin’s mental health needed a break from all of the pressure that has been placed on his shoulders. Drouin has not played since April 21st against the Edmonton Oilers. During warm-ups of the next game, he was seen speaking with team trainers and did not return to take part in the contest. He has since missed Montreal’s last three games as he has dealt with a “non-COVID illness.” He spent all of this time, alone, in his hotel room… In 44 games this season, Drouin scored two goals and added 21 assists.

But Drouin is back and has put up two goals in three games so far for the Habs, ahead of tonight’s matchup against the San Jose Sharks and it’s easy to tell that his coming out on mental health issues has been applauded by many around the NHL.

Even rivals. On Saturday during the Habs’ home opener, several Rangers players came up to Drouin to share kind words. In his latest 32 Thoughts column, Elliotte Friedman noted what took place before puck drop:

“Several Rangers, including Chris Kreider right before the start of a period, made a point of tapping Jonathan Drouin’s shin pads (or talking to him) in support of his public commentary about anxiety and depression.”

Check it out, in this footage from Sportsnet:

This is just classy moves from the Rangers and we can only imagine that more players will be doing the same with Drouin who is looking healthy and happy this season.