It’s been almost two weeks since Montreal Canadiens right wing Zack Kassian was involved in a late night/early morning car accident on October 4th, 2015 in Montreal, yet there is still a massive amount of people hating on him for what he did. I’m not going to sit here and defend what he did. It was wrong, a huge mistake, and he endangered not only his own life, but others as well. There isn’t two ways about it, he made a mistake.
But let’s take a step back for a moment. Imagine that Zack Kassian is your father, your uncle, brother, cousin, friend. He makes this mistake, admits he has a problem. What’s your initial reaction? Well if you’re a human being with a heart, you hug him and be there for him. You help him get into treatment and support him. So why can’t we do this for him?
Is the fact that he’s playing for one of the most high profile sport franchises in North America, if not the world, stopping us from helping players when they encounter hurdles like these in their careers? Should we discard them just because they make millions of dollars to play a sport? Obviously not. Money rarely solves anything. One could argue that with Kassian’s addiction, money does more damage than good.
We need to remember that these players are human too. They have good times and bad times in their lives. Kassian was 8 years old when he lost his father to a heart attack. We don’t know how he took this life change, but we can only assume that it hit him hard, like it would be for anybody losing their father, especially at a young age.
Ever since being drafted into the NHL, he has faced controversy about never living up to where he was picked in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft at 13th overall. Having so many people tell you that you’re no good and a waste of a first round pick can be hard.
Kassian admitting he made a mistake and getting into rehab is a big step in the right direction for him and shows that he wants to play again. He should definitely be awarded the chance to suit up for the Canadiens, if he finishes out his rehabilitation program, because we all deserve another chance. And let’s face it, if the Habs are employing Rob Ramage as the team’s player development coach after being convicted of impaired driving and causing death in 2007, then they are in no place to deny Kassian the opportunity to redeem himself.
Kudos to the Canadiens organization, and Marc Bergevin, for taking this matter seriously. As stated above, it’s obvious that Kassian made the wrong choice. But the club seems to be supporting him by not trading him or terminating his contract, a la Mike Richards with the Los Angeles Kings. Instead giving Kassian the opportunity to work through his issues in the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse Program.
Montreal has always been a hard city to play a sport in. Any mistake, on or off the ice, can easily get you a city of 1.65 million hating you. But in this era of the NHL, where we’ve seen more and more players have publicized substance abuses and suicides, it’s time to change how we perceive players when they make these mistakes. Hating them and saying they are no good for a beloved franchise is getting old and isn’t helping Kassian any. Drop these impossible standards you have for players. He isn’t perfect, you’re not perfect, nobody is. It’s life and we all make mistakes. From these mistakes, we learn from them and become stronger. He needs support, not hate.
I’ve seen some posts talking about hating him purely because he was the return in the Brandon Prust trade. It’s one of the silliest reasons for hating a player. Kassian is a better player on the ice than Prust was. He’s younger, has potential to be a respectable offensive producer, and is cheaper. Prust is older, has put up double digits in goals once in his career, and was a liability on the ice. Sure, Prust is a good locker room addition but who’s to say Kassian won’t evolve into a good locker room character?
To conclude this article, let’s all remember that Zack Kassian is a human being, just like the rest of us. He made a mistake but is now in rehab. He deserves our support, even if he never suited up for a regular season game with us. Just the fact that he’s in the organization means he’s a part of the family and should be treated accordingly. So the next time you feel the need to sit behind your screen and write about how Zack is a piece of trash, just remember that addiction is a terrible disease and can affect you one day. You may just find yourself in his shoes. Are you still going to spew some hate then?
I think not. Smarten up, Habs fans.
Main Photo via Getty Images Sport
