Montreal Canadiens star goaltender Carey Price has finally shed some light on the issues that led him to seek help and walk away from hockey last season.
In an interview with The Athletic’s Arpon Basu, Price opened up about his struggle with alcoholism that prompted him to enroll in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program just over a year ago. year.
“I think after losing in the final (2021) and coming close to a goal and having surgery, and knowing I’m just on the 18th hole (of my career) here, I wasn’t not a happy person, I was ‘I wasn’t a good dad. I drank a lot,” Price said. “I just got to a point where I was like, ‘I’m not even having fun at do that. Like, ‘what am I doing?’ I felt like I was coming to a point in my life where I had to make a decision.”
That point came in early October, when the 35-year-old decided he needed to change and get some help.
“It would have been October 3, and when I woke up I was in a really bad place,” he told Basu. “And I was just like, you know what? It’s not working for me; it’s not working for my family.”
The following Thursday, October 7, Price had voluntarily admitted himself to a residential rehabilitation facility.
Basu gave Price the opportunity to dodge the subject in his interview, but the Vancouver native was eager to talk about it.
“I think most of the time I see it in very stressful sports and positions, there’s a lot of pressure on athletes these days, I think even more so with social media, media attention, you’re still under the microscope,” he said. . “And I think no matter how good you are at dealing with it, it’s always a weight on your mind, the pressure to perform.
“It’s not easy to do this day in and day out. Yes, it’s a fun job, but you’re still doing a job and you have to perform at a maximum level every day. It’s something you strive for. do as an athlete, you like to do it, but it’s not particularly easy to do, especially when things aren’t going well.”
The 2015 Hart and Vézina Trophy winner had to adapt to a new lifestyle and take on new challenges in the months following his rehab.
“Once I left the facility it’s something new, you get excited about it. But the next six months I felt like it was on my mind a lot, I was thinking about it a lot,” Price said. “That’s not to say I was ready to jump off the wagon, but I can see why the success rate isn’t that good. But I watch my kids every day and be able to never waste the mornings of my life again. and being able to wake up on Sunday morning and cook pancakes for my kids is something very fulfilling for me.”
Price also understands the importance of speaking publicly about his alcoholism and the impact the conversation can have on First Nations communities in particular – a group close to his heart as a descendant of the Ulkatcho First Nation.
“Addiction is a very big problem in First Nations communities. I have friends and family who have died from it,” he said. “So I could have done it privately. No one would ever have known. But ultimately I wanted to be able to show that it was OK to ask for help.”
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Price shed some light on his current injury status and uncertain playing future.
“We’ll have to take it step by step. I have no intention of retiring right now,” Price said. “At the moment my goal is just to not have pain day to day. I still have problems going up and down stairs and it is difficult to carry my children up the stairs. So my first priority is just to to get my body pain free in everyday life.
“There’s this outside hope that a miracle will happen, that maybe I can come back and play at some point.”
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