This is a terrible story and was really hard to read.
It was mentioned that there is an opioid crisis for NHL players and that the drug testing isn't really done by professionals so it easy to slip through the cracks. I played an international sport and the tester had to watch us pee, like door open in the stall and watching. How was this so easy for these guys to just by pass this.
I think there needs to be a more strict policy but if doctors are prescribing a lot of pills over the course of a year I can see why there are issues. NHL doctors aren't protecting the players they seem to be protecting the league. That isn't good and needs to change. This is staggering:
Quote:
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Derek Boogaard, a former enforcer with the Wild and New York Rangers, died in 2011 from a combination of painkillers and alcohol after failing 14 of 19 drug tests during the final six months of his life. A dozen doctors prescribed Derek with 1,021 pills during the 2008-09 season alone, according to court documents.
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I don't think I have taken 1,021 prescribed pills in my whole life (36 years). How can anyone's brain function with that kind of stuff pumping through them?
How many former NHL players has this happened too? Are there a lot more that we just don't know about? Seems like a trend that is becoming all too familiar.