Nick Boynton: A New Kind of Courage

Nick Boyton is the latest former NHL player to speak out about his addiction issues

Former NHL defenseman Nick Boynton was a tough guy when he played. He had a reputation for never backing down from a fight. Boynton displayed a new kind of courage in the form of his post on The Player’s Tribune that was published on June 13, 2018.

I read the post, titled “Everything’s Not O.K.”, because I read as much about hockey as I can. The posts on The Player’s Tribune are usually amusing, inspiring and full of the human side of hockey. This post was different. It was powerful in its brutal honesty.

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Boynton played 11 seasons in the NHL. He ended his career as a Philadelphia Flyer, so his post caught my eye immediately. In the post, he admitted an addiction to painkillers. Pills that were, according to Boynton, provided to him by NHL team trainers.. When he couldn’t get relief from what the trainers supplied, he hit the streets for drugs.

He began blacking out after hits, he suffered from insomnia in addition to memory loss, so much so that he felt he needed to reach out. Boynton went to his team management and asked for help. He found himself traded almost immediately thereafter. Boynton does not identify that team, but it is irrelevant. I am infuriated that ANY human being could do that to another, just cast Boynton off like so much garbage.

The Courage to Ask For Help

Boynton moved on and kept his mouth shut. He eventually landed with the Philadelphia Flyers and credits the organization with saving his life. Boynton mustered enough courage to reach out again, and then GM Paul Holmgren helped Boynton get into a rehab facility. He retired quickly. His story today was paired with a video blog from another former Flyer, Daniel Carcillo. I watched that post, “I Can’t Live Like That Anymore”. Carcillo details addiction, vision problems, slurred speech, depression, and anxiety.

Carcillo was far more critical of the NHL than Boynton, who refused to condemn any one team or trainer. Perhaps Carcillo is, deservedly, angrier because his friend and teammate Steve Montador died at age 35 from what was reported as a suicide.

Montador suffered from a degenerative brain disorder that is caused by concussions. Carcillo called out the current leadership in the NHL and NHLPA, stating that they are hiding medical facts from their players, such as the links between head injuries and early onset dementia and Alzheimer’s. He ended his post saying that he does not love the NHL, but that he does still love the game of hockey.

The Courage to Help Others

Both Boynton and Carrillo are seeking treatment at a facility in Orlando, Florida called the Plasticity Brain Center. They both hope to call the damage done by repeated head injuries to light in the NHL, as well as to draw attention to the alternative treatments available. Neither man wants to see the young talent in the NHL today to suffer as they have.

The one similarity in both Boynton and Carrillo’s posts that shook me most is that both men would give back every penny, every win, and have their names removed from the Stanley Cup if that would take away their pain. With the recent memories of Alexander Ovechkin hoisting that Cup fresh, I could not help but wonder if Ovie knows the risks in playing with a head injury. Does Tom Wilson know that the hit he laid on Zach Aston-Reese could leave that young player scarred for life?

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As I pondered these questions, I was so deeply moved by the courage of Nick Boynton. It can not have been easy to bare his soul, admit to addiction, depression and suicidal thoughts. Boynton said he hated fighting during his stint in the NHL. Deep down, he still has the heart of a fighter and the honor and courage of a hockey player.