Blackhawks' Daniel Carcillo Mourns Steve Montador, Calls On League, Union To Help Ex-NHL Players
(CBS) Following the death of good friend and former teammate Steve Montador in February, Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo is calling for the NHL and the union to do more to help ex-players, especially those who struggle physically and mentally after leaving the game.
Carcillo made his emotional plea in a video in conjunction with The Players' Tribune, a media platform founded by Derek Jeter. In it, Carcillo reflects on how hard it was to lose Montador, who passed away at 35 after retiring from the NHL in 2013. Montador struggled with substance abuse and suffered from the effects of concussions.
Like Montador, Carcillo has dealt with substance abuse and has had concussion problems.
"He was really worried about the future," Carcillo said of Montador. "Over the years, I saw kind of that deterioration of his mind, and he must have felt that as well."
Carcillo is now calling for change, as he wants the league and players' union to provide more guidance for ex-players, so that they have more direction and help in life after leaving the game.
"After Monty died, I really did some research, kind of asking guys that had already moved on and that I had played with and asking them if they knew what our exit program was for the NHLPA," Carcillo said. "I was kind of astonished to find out that not one guy can tell me what it was. Right now, as far as the PA goes, we would receive a phone call to kind of see how we're doing and that's pretty much our exit program.
"From the guys that I've talked to who have moved on, they've all said the same thing — all fell, ind of, into a deep depression and went away quietly. It was almost as if the less noise you make when you go away, the better. I don't think it's right. It doesn't feel right for how much we give to this league and to this sport in regards to sacrificing our bodies, sacrificing our minds with the concussions and hits we take."
Carcillo is currently out with an upper-body injury as Chicago leads its first-round series against Nashville, 3-1.
Watch the powerful video with Carcillo in full above.
