Former Avs Bordeleau reveals that NHLers deal with substance abuse more than fans think

On Tuesday, star goalie Carey Price revealed that ’substance use’ led to entering NHL’s assistance program earlier in October. He issued a statement through the Montreal Canadiens and also posted it to his Instagram account. Price said in the post that he entered a residential treatment facility for his substance use.

“Over the last few years I have let myself get to a very dark place and I didn’t have the tools to cope with that struggle,” said Price. “Things had reached a point that I realized I needed to prioritize my health for both myself and for my family.”

This prompted a lot of pundits and reporters to wonder what was Price’s drug of choice, which let’s be honest : we do not care. We only want the man to get better.

However, while discussing Price’s courage on the air of 91.9 Sports in Montreal on Wednesday, former Colorado Avalanche winger Patrick Bordeleau came out with his own story of drug abuse. He then mentioned how many players in the NHL use drugs and it is more than fans could ever imagine. According to him, the substance abuse, which include drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs, are a plague in the NHL

For example, Bordeleau admitted that back in 2013, while playing with the Avalanche, about half of the team that year used illegal drugs regularly during parties in between games. It’s huge, especially when you take a look at the roster:

Bordeleau believes it’s extremely easy for any NHL player to get drugs when they want to release the pressure or forget about a bad performance after a game. To get out of this spiral, you must first change your acquaintances and people you hang out with. This is what he said, translated from French:

“Imagine if Carey Price loses 5 -1, had a bad night and then walks off to a bar and hangs out with the wrong crowd. It’s inevitable that he’s going to end up consuming to help numb his emotions and release the pressure of media and fans between games.”

While we cannot explain what drove Price to struggle with addiction - it is his own personal story - we can only salute the courage it took to share it with the fanbase and to get the help he needed.

Let’s hope - especially if Bordeleau is right and many players dabble with drugs - that Price will inspire them to get help.