I hope Laine can find healing here, but if not, I pray he can completely heal elsewhere. Patrik has been nothing but good to us here and while I would be sad to see him go, I want what is best for him, on a human level.
rjross0623
She’s a hell of a writer. Moving story. I along with thousands of others only want Laine to be OK and live his life doing whatever he wants to do. He deserves nothing but respect for taking care of his well being.
slow-roaster
Thank you for sharing this article. It’s a very important subject that needs to continually discussed and I was very appreciative of the writers vulnerability. Mental Health issues can affect anyone and it’s a good reminder that we should show empathy to those we meet and/or see on the TV.
ScaryRequirement3171
This is just so beautifully written and utterly heart-rending. I’ve struggled with depression my entire adult life – thank whatever powers that be I’ve never been suicidal – and I have such deep empathy for anyone who’s struggling too, Patrik included. I’m grateful he’s here, I’m grateful he loves our city, and I want nothing for him but health and peace, no matter where that needs to take place, or under what circumstances.
Lupis_Domesticus
First off, I hope Patrik Laine gets well and goes on to have a great life, with or without hockey. Hockey should always be secondary to the human side of sports. Laine has shown that he is a good person and deserves the best life.
Now the dark side of this, which this article touched on a bit. The NHL should be ashamed of themselves for their stance on concussions, CTE, and mental health in general. The fact that they still allow hits to the head just blows my mind because it shows a total disregard for player safety and furthermore shows they don’t care about the players lives after hockey. The fans should be ashamed of themselves every time they cheer for a big hit that accidentally landed a guy unconscious or players dropping the gloves and punching each other in the head. I know it is entertaining for some, and even when I was younger, I enjoyed a good hockey fight or a big hit. But then I read the NFL concussion report and that changed everything. By cheering for fighting and not complaining about hits to the head, you are basically saying you don’t care about players after they can no longer play. We all talk about how we have sympathy for Boogard, Rypien, Belak, Probert, and Simon, but not enough to stop guys like Olivier or Rempe from giving themselves CTE while entertaining us for a few minutes every week. I know that this isn’t a poplar stance and will probably get downvoted, but I really don’t care. I look forward to a day when the NHL can entertain me without wrecking the players mental health in the process.
OhioUBobcats
This was so well done. 🙏
whatscoochie
This was a really great (and tough) read. I think it’s an important reality check for a lot of people. Sometimes you can just hear it in the media members’ tones “oh, whenever he gets out of the … *player’s assistance program* he’s gone”. Or even worse, people insinuating he’s faking it to avoid playing here. It’s so much more complicated than that
7 Comments
Good article.
I hope Laine can find healing here, but if not, I pray he can completely heal elsewhere. Patrik has been nothing but good to us here and while I would be sad to see him go, I want what is best for him, on a human level.
She’s a hell of a writer. Moving story. I along with thousands of others only want Laine to be OK and live his life doing whatever he wants to do. He deserves nothing but respect for taking care of his well being.
Thank you for sharing this article. It’s a very important subject that needs to continually discussed and I was very appreciative of the writers vulnerability. Mental Health issues can affect anyone and it’s a good reminder that we should show empathy to those we meet and/or see on the TV.
This is just so beautifully written and utterly heart-rending. I’ve struggled with depression my entire adult life – thank whatever powers that be I’ve never been suicidal – and I have such deep empathy for anyone who’s struggling too, Patrik included. I’m grateful he’s here, I’m grateful he loves our city, and I want nothing for him but health and peace, no matter where that needs to take place, or under what circumstances.
First off, I hope Patrik Laine gets well and goes on to have a great life, with or without hockey. Hockey should always be secondary to the human side of sports. Laine has shown that he is a good person and deserves the best life.
Now the dark side of this, which this article touched on a bit. The NHL should be ashamed of themselves for their stance on concussions, CTE, and mental health in general. The fact that they still allow hits to the head just blows my mind because it shows a total disregard for player safety and furthermore shows they don’t care about the players lives after hockey. The fans should be ashamed of themselves every time they cheer for a big hit that accidentally landed a guy unconscious or players dropping the gloves and punching each other in the head. I know it is entertaining for some, and even when I was younger, I enjoyed a good hockey fight or a big hit. But then I read the NFL concussion report and that changed everything. By cheering for fighting and not complaining about hits to the head, you are basically saying you don’t care about players after they can no longer play. We all talk about how we have sympathy for Boogard, Rypien, Belak, Probert, and Simon, but not enough to stop guys like Olivier or Rempe from giving themselves CTE while entertaining us for a few minutes every week. I know that this isn’t a poplar stance and will probably get downvoted, but I really don’t care. I look forward to a day when the NHL can entertain me without wrecking the players mental health in the process.
This was so well done. 🙏
This was a really great (and tough) read. I think it’s an important reality check for a lot of people. Sometimes you can just hear it in the media members’ tones “oh, whenever he gets out of the … *player’s assistance program* he’s gone”. Or even worse, people insinuating he’s faking it to avoid playing here. It’s so much more complicated than that