News Article: Zack Kassian placed in stage 2 Part II - Mod Warning in Post#1

[Nynja*]

If MB knew about his substance abuse problems, why did he take a risk in picking him up? Montreal isn't known for being a quiet and boring city.

That said.. being that he's an RFA next year, makes it a bit easier for MB. No way will you find a trade partner for him.

Get a pick and dump Prust's 2.5m cap
Kassian either does better than what Prust could do at 2/3 of said cap, or ****s up and gets sent to substance abuse program, where is cap comes off the books while he's suspended, if he managed to get reinstated before the end of the season

Win/Win

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

What I mean is that there are tons of comments about posters abusing alcohol after habs losses, or any other bad event, but somehow someone suggesting they'd use coke is worse? Alcohol is just as dangerous, as addictive, etc. as cocaine, and a bunch of users here allude to abusing alcohol pretty heavily. I think the biggest difference between coke and alcohol is its legality, and that its biggest danger is the coke supply chain (purchasing it from sketchy people, people involved in shady business, so on).

I'm not picking on you necessarily, but to take such offense to a comment is weird considering that users frequently talk about abusing another dangerous (albeit in its own way) substance and people kinda laugh that one off.

Well, you're absolutely right that this behavior (taking large quanties of alcohol after an event) is unhealthy. Also on a large scale (population), alcohol is much more damagable and accountable for more illness and cost for society.

The only 2 differences imo are the legal status of both drugs and the potential for a more acute violent reaction (like you know a hart attack or bleeding in your head) with cocaine..

 

[DAChampion]

I think I missed the story but I don't get the reaction on this site.

 

[mitchmagic]

Don't you think it's irresponsible and unfair to cite your own personal experiences with the military to make sweeping generalizations about cocaine use in the NHL on a thread dealing with a car accident involving one individual NHL player in which there is not one speck of evidence that cocaine was involved?
I do.

No, throughout the course of the documentary I spoke with many members of the military who offered their views on the topic.

 

[DAChampion]

Do we have confirmation that this was a cocaine-related incident?

 

[Nynja*]

Do we have confirmation that this was a cocaine-related incident?

No, there was never any indication at all. Some people are just linking two very unrelated events together. Hence why this post was made:

Stick to the facts and avoid personal speculation linking Kassian to other substances and organizations.

 

[MXD]

Provided he makes it through Stage 2 and is cleared to play again before the end of the season (and sooner rather than later), I don't see what the organization has to gain by sidelining him for the sake of sidelining him.

 

[FerrisRox]

Definitely no one knows who's not close to the situation. Don't forget, however, that the Habs'doctor was at the hospital with Kassian, and knowing his history, may indeed have ordered drug and alcohol tests, even though the police did not.

Those results would stay private and only known to the top brass. So it's not impossible that drugs were involved, but irresponsible to infer that they definitely were.

The Habs doctor can not "order" Kassian to be drug tested, I assure you.

 

[mikemcburn]

Provided he makes it through Stage 2 and is cleared to play again before the end of the season (and sooner rather than later), I don't see what the organization has to gain by sidelining him for the sake of sidelining him.

I'm with you here.

Presuming Kassian is reinstated by the NHL, Montreal will be paying out the balance of his last year's contract no mater what. So, best guess is that no matter what he'll get a conditioning stint in the minors while mgmt sorts out the next move. Then, if there's a slot to fill (injuries, etc. will happen) they'll play him, see if he'll prove to have some trade value at the very least.

I figure it's only if there isn't a roster spot to slip him into that Montreal will send him to the waiver wire. And of course, from there either another team takes a gamble on the last few months of the kid's contract, or Montreal pays him to demonstrate his crow-eating, ego-checked, talents in the minors... Even there he could still end up with hits rights added to a trade package and another team giving him another chance.

His NHL career is not, by definition, over. And bets that Montreal would rather give him the best chance possible to at least be of trade value. I see him playing for the Habs before the trade deadline.

 

[mikemcburn]

The Habs doctor can not "order" Kassian to be drug tested, I assure you.

How do you know? Off hand it sounds plausible. Even if the NHL player contracts don't include waivers allowing their team's medical staff open access to whatever tests they like, so even if the doctor didn't have the authority by contract to demand such a test, it's easy to see a 24 year old kid deferring to his boss's agent/rep (aka: the team's doctor) and doing as told by authorizing the doctor's request for blood work.

 

[Habs13]

Do we have an ETA for his return? From injury and/or suspension?

 

[FerrisRox]

How do you know? Off hand it sounds plausible. Even if the NHL player contracts don't include waivers allowing their team's medical staff open access to whatever tests they like, so even if the doctor didn't have the authority by contract to demand such a test, it's easy to see a 24 year old kid deferring to his boss's agent/rep (aka: the team's doctor) and doing as told by authorizing the doctor's request for blood work.

I know because the NHLPA would never allow such an invasive thing and such a violation of any of their charter members privacy.

Keep in mind, this incident happened away from the rink before the season began.

You think a team doctor could show up after a car accident and demand a drug test?

Get real.

 

[InglewoodJack]

Do we have an ETA for his return? From injury and/or suspension?

I'd be surprised if he plays for us this season/ever.

 

[groovejuice]

The Habs doctor can not "order" Kassian to be drug tested, I assure you.

Yeah, he's his doctor. Perhaps not his only one. And you never saw the fine print on the contact. The Habs knew he had a drug/alcohol issue. Not a large step to conclude they'd have the right to test him in his contract.

 

[Non Player Canadiens]

maybe this was asked already, but do we know what happened to the girls? were they injured in the accident too?

 

[F A N]

What I mean is that there are tons of comments about posters abusing alcohol after habs losses, or any other bad event, but somehow someone suggesting they'd use coke is worse? Alcohol is just as dangerous, as addictive, etc. as cocaine, and a bunch of users here allude to abusing alcohol pretty heavily. I think the biggest difference between coke and alcohol is its legality, and that its biggest danger is the coke supply chain (purchasing it from sketchy people, people involved in shady business, so on).

How is using cocaine not worse? It seems you're brushing off the illegality of it as if it wasn't a big deal. And how is cocaine not more dangerous? It's much easier to overdose.

 

[mitchmagic]

How is using cocaine not worse? It seems you're brushing off the illegality of it as if it wasn't a big deal. And how is cocaine not more dangerous? It's much easier to overdose.

There are more alcohol related deaths than cocaine related deaths every year.

 

[SOLR]

There are more alcohol related deaths than cocaine related deaths every year.

Ok go back to the books now and learn what False Equivalency is.

There are obviously a lot more people drinking Alcohol vs. on cocaine.

 

[FerrisRox]

Yeah, he's his doctor. Perhaps not his only one. And you never saw the fine print on the contact. The Habs knew he had a drug/alcohol issue. Not a large step to conclude they'd have the right to test him in his contract.

I assure you that no NHL team could request a drug test for a player.

I'm not in a position to go into any more detail than that here, but I promise you it is well beyond the boundaries of what a team can do and all players in the NHLPA are protected from that sort of thing.

Keep in mind, all of these players are in a Union. They are fiercely protected and this kind of thing simply cannot happen in any capacity, but when you factor in that the accident took place out of season and away from the ice and that adds even another layer.

I know more than i can say about what happened here, but what I can say is that the Canadiens were in no position to do any sort of testing like that. Had they even requested such a thing (and they would not) they would be in violation of the CBA and a grievance would have been filed simply for making the request.

 

[InglewoodJack]

How is using cocaine not worse? It seems you're brushing off the illegality of it as if it wasn't a big deal. And how is cocaine not more dangerous? It's much easier to overdose.

This study by the International Committe on the Science of Drugs (ICSD) released a study about drug use and harm caused.
At least in the UK (let's assume it's similar across the pond) there were thousands of alcohol-related deaths versus under 200 cocaine deaths in 2009.(page 10)

Alcohol is the most harmful drug to the brain (page 13)

Page 9 has a ranking of "harmfulness" of drugs. Alcohol is by far the most harmful on a scale of 0-100 at 72, while Cocaine is at 26. Both are ranked around as harmful to the user, but alcohol is far more harmful to others.

Look, I'm not saying coke is a game or anything, just that we're ready to toss a player away because he's a coke addict, (or might not be, but that's the line of thinking), but if the same player had an alcohol problem and was say, a mainstay in a crescent street bar (see: all our current good players circa 2009), we'd laugh it off. I think that's not good.

 

[Ezpz]

You realize that's because alcohol is legal and consumed by like 90% of the population compared to cocaine being illegal and used by like 1%.

 

[mitchmagic]

But it has also been proven that even though a narcotic is easily accessible (legal) does not mean it will be used by more people.

Moreover, doesn't the fact that alcohol is legal and causes so many deaths make it more dangerous?

 

[Lshap]

This thread is about Kassian v. Demons, not cocaine v. alcohol.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

This thread is about Kassian v. Demons, not cocaine v. alcohol.

As long as it's not speculating as to which one Kassian likes more, I don't see why not. The thread is also about stage 2 of a substance abuse program, after all.

 

[Ezpz]

This thread is about Kassian v. Demons, not cocaine v. alcohol.

The Demon Kane?