Jlaura76

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MI • 43 Years Old • Male

Is Cocaine the worst kept secret in the NHL?

Disturbing news shows that Evgeni Kuznetsov tested positive for cocaine. https://www.hockeybuzz.co...ed-by-the-IIHF/246/101058 Enter the stream of “we don’t see this in the NHL like in other sports” commentary. And yet, we do see it. Every year. Being a Red Wings fan, I saw Bob Probert get in a LOT of trouble. We saw Mike Richards have a career ending bust recently. But still, this is seen as a rare problem reserved for a few trouble players. How about 1/3 of players in a random test? (That last statement is incorrect. 1/3 of samples were tested and there were positive results, no number is given) TSN reported that one-third of the 2,400 player urine samples collected each year are screened more closely for what the NHL terms "drugs of abuse," such as cocaine, and those are the ones showing positive tests on the rise. https://www.nydailynews.c...article-1.2387098rnrnThat article was from 2015. Read a little farther and see this nugget: The NHLPA isn't sharing specific details of the discussions, either, but it's believed adding drugs such as cocaine to the banned substances list would mean one primary change to the protocol: That all of the 2,400 tests then would be screened more closely for such drugs; not just a third. Cocaine isn’t even a banned substance. I come from a family where there is a history of serious drug abuse. There is always a wall that people come crashing into. This story would be buried again if not for social media. Good luck forgetting about anything if someone catches on their phone. Even after it’s taken down someone will repost it. Over and over. The locker room is still a “sacred space”. Players will protect what happens behind closed doors vehemently. The NHL seems to turn the other way. A brief acknowledgement and the story goes away. We go from “it never happens” to “don’t be naive, it happens all the time”. I wonder where this one will end up.

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