On Carey Price reaching out, and the need for broader access to similar supports that met him

Last night, sitting in a cozy hotel room in Calgary, I sat down to write my thoughts on Carey Price and his courageous decision to enter the NHL’s player assistance program.

Earlier in the day, I asked Paul Maurice if he had a comment on it. He did.

Maurice has spoken of personal heightened awareness when it comes to mental health issues for a while now. During the pandemic when I was covering COVID and doing Winnipeg Jets stuff on the side, I was curious as to how NHL teams — particularly the Jets — we’re handling the bubble situation. Long days spent alone in hotel rooms can get to a person. I can attest to that personally.

Maurice had said then that there was extra emphasis put on mental health. Conversations were happening.

I didn’t doubt that, or what Maurice was saying. I just didn’t know what all of that meant. Doing Zoom calls, it wasn’t easy to ask several follow-ups on a single subject and I was on the periphery not covering the Jets at the time.

So when Maurice answered my jumbled and mumbled question regarding Price on Thursday, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

What came from the tenured head coach was a measured, well-thought out response that showed compassion. To me, curious about how mental health is dealt with in hockey, and having been open about my own nearly two-decade struggle with depression and anxiety, what stood out most was his understanding.

“I’m almost always happy to hear that, for a couple of reasons, and one is, and whatever the challenge — and I’m not speaking specific to Carey Price because I’ve had players who went into the program — those are real challenges. It has nothing to do with your bank account, those are real challenges, and the day they go in is the first chance to get help, and that’s a really, really good thing. And then, if we do this right as a society, I believe, the kid that’s got the Carey Price jersey who is 12 isn’t going to look at Carey Price as he’s a bad guy. It’s that he’s a courageous guy, and for himself and his family, he went and got help.

“So that’s our responsibility now, that Carey Price is looked at as a courageous leader, he’s got a challenge that he’s dealing with, and because of what he does for a living, it’s public, so maybe the kid with the Carey Price jersey, we want him wearing it the next day, that’s the goal. So it’s not bad, it’s not a stigma and I’m happy he’s getting help. I’m sorry that he needed it but I’m really happy he’s getting help.”

Maurice’s words came without hesitation. Sure, he’s a smooth talker at times, but this is a different subject. Nevertheless, he nailed it.

Reaching out is one of the hardest things a person suffering with a mental health issue can do.

It’s daunting. Your mind can quickly scare you off of the thought. It can come in your darkest moment, and if the help isn’t there, the consequences can be severe.

For Price, a high-profile athlete in a pressure-cooker Canadian market to step away from the game where he’s heavily relied upon must have only added another layer to get through.

It’s unfortuante that he needed the help, as Maurice said, but we should all be glad he’s getting it.

And this is where the initial post that I had written got to before I had a thought cross through my mind.

Earlier this week, I went to try book an appointment with my therapist. I’ve seen her now for more than a decade. During the pandemic, she had to stop accepting new clients because there wasn’t enough hours in the day for her to meet the demand and still do the vital job she does.

The first appointnment I could get was at the end of November. I’m currently on the cancellation list.

Between the ears, I had been doing pretty good leading up to the end of last week.

As most of you know, I’m back covering hockey and it’s been therapy in and of itself.

Last Friday was my first time travelling in 18 1/2 months. Not since March 12, 2020, the day the NHL paused and COVID took over.

I was a mess.

Having covered COVID, I’m now beginning to see some of the mental scars I’ve picked up along the way. Leading up to my flight to Edmonton, my anxiety was through the roof. The thought of getting sick away from home, having to quarantine for a number of days was nearly paralyzing until the meds kicked in.

Just being out of my own bubble was difficult. And then, as I had wondered about players spending hours alone in hotel rooms, I was now doing that myself.

It was bit jarring and, with a whirlwind of changes in recent weeks, I had a good cry. I needed it. It had been a minute.

I also felt the need to get back in comfy chair in my therapist’s office. I won’t get the chance for a bit, and I’m lucky, like Carey Price, to have wonderful support around me.

And then it hit me, again. I’m lucky to even have access at all.

If there’s a positive from Price’s decision to seek help, and there are a few, I believe, one of them is that such a big name, relatively speaking, came out and made a decision that will help others.

It sets an example, and a good one, that no matter how good you are at what you do, how calm and cool you look doing it, and how much money you make for it, it doesn’t matter — mental health can affect anyone at any time.

But to push the conversation forward, the problem is the disparity in access to supports, to help.

There’s a very good program in place for NHLers, and thank goodness it’s there for those who need it.

The problem is, that’s not the case for anyone. For someone in crisis, for instance, trying to find a therapist right now could take days, weeks or even months.

That’s simply too long.

Price’s decision to seek help highlights a negative that has nothing to do with him at all. The help for mental health needs to be not only normalized, no doubt, but at the same time, it needs to be widely available for anyone who needs it, and crucially, when they need it

It takes a tremendous amount of courage and support to take that step. Imagine the devastatingn impact when someone gets to that point, ready for help, and it’s a week or a month away.

Where does that leave someone who needs critical support right where they are in that moment?

Price’s decision is going to go a long way, as Maurice mentioned, in helping to further destigmatize such action of reaching out itself. It’s going to help others to pay better attention, or simply just to ask their friends or loved ones if they’re doing OK, and it’s going to help those who are being asked to have the strength to say they aren’t.

What I also hope it does, eventually (sooner rather than later), is help move us as a society forward, where access can be swiftly available. Because right now it’s not, and the pandemic has put the spotlight on the gaps in the system in this country.

When you’re at the point of reaching out, it should only be a call or a click away to have someone able to speak with and set up an immediate plan to manage, to cope and to heal.

There needs to be hope.

Provincial Crisis Resources in Manitoba

Klinic Crisis Line

204-786-8686

1-877-435-7170 (toll free)

First Nations & Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line

1-855-242-3310 (toll free)

(Photo credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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