Editor's note: This story contains statistics relating to suicide and mentions depression and anxiety. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988 to receive support for free and 24/7.
The NHLPA's players' assistance is a valuable resource that most players likely prefer not to have to use.
With these players living out a childhood dream, playing the sport they love in the best league in the world, it can be crushing to have to leave or step away from it.
Even more so, it can be harder to admit they're "not ok."
On Sunday, Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals defenseman Spencer Stastney detailed his battle with severe depression and anxiety and his recovery in an episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas.
Stastney's entrance into the NHLPA's player assistance program during the 2024 offseason was not publicized. Still, questions about his status had been raised in Sept. 2024 when Stastney was not in attendance for Predators training camp.
He returned to the Admirals in December and was called up to Nashville for the first time that season in January. At that time, Stastney said he was going to "take more time" before he shared why he had missed a chunk of the season.
In the interview, Stastney made himself vulnerable, going into depth about how he felt like hockey wasn't for him anymore, the guilt and blame he carried from his teenage years, the moments that made him realize he needed help and progress through therapy.
Coming out to an audience of thousands and sharing your struggles cannot be easy, but Stastney's choice to do it at all is so important and deserves to be amplified across the NHL.
There is a toxic stigma within men's mental health, that being they're seen as "weak" for needing help. Mental health struggles, like depression and anxiety, can happen to anyone, and gender has nothing to do with it. Disease does not discriminate.
A "macho" persona forces men to keep these feelings down, leaving them untreated and likely to get worse.
In the United States, this has unfortunately led to a substantially higher suicide rate in men compared to women. In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2003, men died by suicide 3.8 times more than women and white males accounted for 68.13% of suicide deaths in 2023.
Considering 62% of the NHL's total workforce are White males, Stastney's story of how he was able to get help and how it allowed him to come back to the game should be one that the NHL is seriously taking to heart.
It's 100% up to players, if they've gone through a mental health struggle similar to Stastney's, if they want to share their story. However, having more voices like Stastney's in the public forum is crucial in ensuring it's okay to not be okay and to utilize the resources provided.
And these shared experience aren't just exclusive to benefitting NHL players, but truly anyone playing hockey, playing a sport, a fan of the Predators or Admirals or really anyone.
Stastney is taking advantage of his platform, and his story deserves as much attention as it can get.
Stastney is expected to make his way around Nashville in mid-September for Predators training camp. While he has attracted so much attention for his shared experience, it'll be exciting to see him back on the ice and compete for a spot in the Predators' defensive corps.