Carey Price opens up about what he was addicted to and why he chose to go public with his struggles

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Joshua Deeds
October 25, 2022 (6:51 PM)

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The Montreal Canadiens have been through a lot as an organization after they had a special run to the cup in 2021, to the loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and then losing Dominique Ducharme as a coach, there remained one constant they counted on, they lost.

Carey Price is a legendary goaltender, who has never won a cup but has spent his entire career in Montreal, explains the situation:

Yeah I do,» he responded. «It would have been October 3, and waking up, I was in a pretty bad place. And I was just like, you know what? This isn't working for me; it's not working for my family.»

During his time in Montreal, he has faced a lot of adversity being a great goaltender in what could be considered many lackluster teams. The pressure builds up, which no doubt led to his alcoholism and lack of satisfaction with his career in 2021.

He then went into context about how having a year of sobriety would be able to give him the comfort and clarity to share his experiences and talk with former teammate Nate Thompson about the issues they shared with substance abuse.

«I think after we lost in the (2021) Finals and coming so close to a goal and having a surgery, and knowing that I'm right on the 18th hole (of my career) here, I was not a happy person, I wasn't being a good father. I was drinking a lot. I just got to a point where I was like, I'm not even having fun doing this. Like, what am I doing? I felt like I was getting to a point in my life where I had to make a decision. And substance abuse has been a very big issue in First Nations communities. I've had friends and family that have passed away from it. So, I could have done this privately. Nobody ever would have known about it. But at the end of the day, I was like, if I'm dealing with it, if I can lead by example and show that it's OK to reach out for help. Maybe I could have gone out and stopped on my own. Yeah, maybe. But at the end of the day, I wanted to be able to show it's OK to ask for help.»

Price had admitted himself into a rehab facility, on Thursday, October 7th with help of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

Since then, he's become an advocate to help other people within the First Nations and with NHL Players to be a positive influence for people with the same issues.

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