[sureLoss]

The lawsuit has been dropped:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...over-1.3148845

A Calgary jury found Ferland acted in self-defence in 2014 when he punched another man in a 2012 bar fight in Cochrane, but the complainant sued after the acquittal.

The lawsuit was dropped last week.

"It feels good. It's been something that's been hovering over me for a while now," said Ferland, "I'm just happy it's something I don't have to worry about anymore."

When the Manitoba native first made headlines after the bar fight, he worried it was all he would be known for.

"[I] thought that might be it for my hockey career here in Calgary," said Ferland. "The toughest thing for me was just not being able to tell everyone my side of the story for the longest time."

Ferland's side of the story is that he was ambushed as he was leaving the bar that day, or "sucker punched," which is why he hit back.

"Before the playoffs I felt like a lot of fans thought I was the crazy kid who got in a bar fight," said Ferland, "I just want everyone to know that I'm a friendly guy and I'm easy to talk to and I care about my friends and my teammates."

Ferland's team goes beyond the players who wear the same jersey.

Kayleigh Chapman has been by Ferland's side through everything. Since they were teenagers, in fact. The couple met in high school and stayed together through her years playing NCAA hockey at an American college.

"I just hope people can see how fun and loving he actually is," said Chapman. "He's not all crazy and all about fighting. He's actually a really funny guy."

Lawyer Michael Bates represented Ferland in both the criminal and civil cases, and says his client bore the burden of his high-profile from the beginning.

"It's really hard because somebody who does have a public profile, people are always wondering, 'Why aren't they speaking, why aren't they telling their side of the story?'" said Bated. "I would say the results speak for themselves, there's good reasons why you don't go out and speak to the media until it's the right time."

With help from coach Bob Hartley, Ferland sought help for alcoholism and has been sober for more than a year. Hartley, who affectionately calls him Ferly, offered the same support when it came to his legal troubles.

"Bob's always had my back from the first day I met him," said Ferland. "He just told me this was just another step in becoming a pro and learning from my experience."

Ferland hopes this will be one of the last times he talks about his legal issues. He says there are more important things to focus on.

Contract negotiations are also underway and Ferland just wants to play hockey.

"I love the city. I love the sea of red and the fans are great and I want to play here as long as I can," he said.