[Boreal]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

If he is refusing treatment ala Fleury, that would constitute a material breach.

You can lead a horse to water...

Exactly, that is what makes the most sense to me. It matters not what he did, but what he didn't do that is specifically defined within the tentacles of the CBA that regulates the contract he signed.

The evidence that can prove this "breach" would be interesting. The words "fail, refuse, or neglect to o[/Bbey" pop out of the CBA, however the "Club's rules" they reference seem intentionally vague, but must be defined somewhere. For a breach to have teeth and hold up in front of an arbitrator, it would need significant evidence of who/what/when/where/why/how a breach was made.

The NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioural Health Program policy does not appear to be publicly available. The CBA references it within the context of testing for performance enhancing drugs, but it does not provide the language and the specifics of the program.

However, the Boogaard / NHL Lawsuit provides some insight into the programs details.

The terms of the SABH Program are set forth in a document that takes the form of an agreement signed by the NHL’s commissioner and the NHLPA’s executive director.

The agreement’s first paragraph states that the SABH Program “is a comprehensive effort to address substance abuse among NHL players and their families, to treat those with a substance abuse problem in a confidential, fair and effective way, and to deter such abuse in the future,” and adds that the Program “has the full support of the League and the Players’ Association and will be incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”

The SABH Program “is supposed to operate according to a defined regimen,” under which players are initially placed in “Stage One” and then are demoted to “Stage Two,” “Stage Three,” and “Stage Four,” with progressively more serious penalties at each stage, if they fail to comply with the Program’s requirements.

I think between the Boogaard lawsuit and the recent passing of other former players, the NHL may be taking this program a LOT more seriously, and a failure for a player to meet the contractual requirements of the program will not be taken lightly.