Patrik Laine almost gave up everything amid addiction and mental health issues

Canadiens star forward Patrik Laine made an appearance on a recent episode of the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast and spoke about his struggles in Columbus before he took a leave of absence and the Blue Jackets traded him to Montreal.
When Laine entered the NHL/NHL Players’ Association Player Assistance Program in January 2024, he wondered if he would ever play hockey again. But he had to face his demons.

“It was, at the time, the hardest decision I’ve had to make. Like walk away from something you love, and you kind of sacrifice everything to be here. And then, because of your own struggles, you have gotta leave that behind for a little bit. At the time, I didn’t know for how long, I didn’t know if I was going to play again. It was the best decision I’ve ever made to take that time off and prioritize my head,” Laine says.

Laine explains how he believes his issues began the previous summer when approached then-Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen to tell him he was quitting.

“I think I told Jarmo a couple times that I’m done playing, Im not coming back, I’m not going to play again. And then I ended up coming back and I probably shouldn’t have. At the time I think I should’ve taken the time then. Then it just started going downhill and just got to that point I was so depressed that I couldn’t function anymore and just had to blow the whistle that this is not going to be good if you just try to run through the wall like it’s not going to work out.”

This was a moving interview, just weeks after Jeff Marek and reporter Greg Wyshynski spoke about Laine’s addiction issues in Winnipeg. On Marek’s podcast, it was mentioned how, when the Jets would travel for away games, Laine would stay at the hotel instead of going out to eat with his teammates and would play Fortnite for hours, even staying up all night. Marek added that Laine would not enjoy playing on his gaming system with the TV provided in hotel rooms and would therefore demand that a team staff member would go out to buy him a new one, would use it for the night and would then leave it in the room, asking for a new one in the next city.

Wyshynski confirmed the information, saying how Laine himself once admitted to doing this at the worst of his playing addictions.

Laine has been open about his mental health and his past struggles and you have to imagine he did receive help for his video games addiction when he took part in the NHL/NHL Players’ Association Player Assistance Program.

He and his fiancée Jordan Leigh launched their new initiative called “From Us To You” in the summer to promote mental health and help others facing similar challenges.

It is just great to see Laine open up and there is no doubt that he will help others by doing so.