Laurentide
Registered User
That's how GM's around the league will view it. It doesn't matter what teams say for public consumption, the reality is that the stigma is there and Drouin's track record with regard to his reliability is suspect. Bell Media does this big mental health PR campaign every year and every year around the same time there are several articles that come out which reveal that Bell is one of the worst offenders when it comes to having a toxic workplace that contributes to the poor mental health of their employees. This year, about 2 weeks after "Bell Let's Talk" Day, Bell closed 3 radio stations without warning, including TSN1040 in Vancouver which was an original TEAM affiliate which had been in operation for just shy of 20 years. They switched the station's signal to head office in Toronto one morning and then told staff they had 30 minutes to clean out their desks and vacate the premises. So they obviously don't give a crap about mental health despite the annual dog and pony show known as "Let's Talk".You're calling a player who took a leave of absence because he's dealing with someone serious a quitter. Are you kidding me?
So why would we think that the NHL or its member clubs really care either?
If Drouin had undergone hip replacement surgery he'd be more likely to get a GM to take a flyer on him than having "mental issues". Guys with those kinds of problems are seen as ticking time bombs and no GM wants to be holding that grenade in case it goes off. Drouin is an untradeable asset and I doubt very much that he ever plays another NHL game, for the Habs or anyone else.