In a recent TSN interview, Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark addressed mental health issues he’s been dealing with since his trade to the team in June 2024, saying it all came to a head during a Dec. 27 game in Toronto.
Ullmark said he experienced anxiety and panic before the first period and intermission. After the game, he called Dr. Joel Gold with the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program before taking a leave of absence.
“I’m f—ed up,” Ullmark recalled telling Gold. “I need help.”
Ullmark is far from alone. The program has been around for 30 years, since NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the Players’ Association took a page from the NBA’s playbook and created it as a resource for players dealing with substance abuse, mental-health and other off-ice issues.
There’s not a lot known publicly about how it functions. That, of course, is by design.
“It’s all about confidentiality,” said Edmonton Oilers goalie Connor Ingram, who has been through the program twice. “Rarely do you see guys talk openly about the program.”
Confidentiality is a fundamental part of the program, both to ensure players’ right to privacy and as a means of encouraging participation.
But it can also create a stigma.
“Fans are mad that they lose their favorite player for a couple months,” Ingram said. “Well, your favorite player might be going through therapy for six months and you had no idea. … I think a lot of people forget that athletes are just human beings. You know, I’m the same guy as your brother, your uncle. I just have a different job.”
NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said he thinks the league and the NHLPA need to do a better job of educating fans, teams and players about the program. He believes minimizing the stigma can help players see what the program could mean to them in a time of need.
Walsh, a recovering alcoholic, knows from experience how a program like this can change a life. He was the mayor of Boston and Secretary of Labor under President Joe Biden before moving into his current job in 2023. None of that happens, he said, if he doesn’t get help.
“It’s not a career-ending experience when you go to the program,” Walsh said. “It’s actually a life-changing experience. We’ve got to do a better job of getting the word out. As a whole society, we’ve got to work on the stigma.
“I’d never judge a person going in. I’d say, ‘Keep trying. Keep trying.’ When I do educational (talks) to players, I say, ‘It’s not meant to be a penalty. It’s meant to be a life-saver.’”
To help fans understand how the program works, Walsh and several players agreed to share their perspective and experience with The Athletic, as did some others who are involved in the program under the condition of anonymity to avoid revealing locations or connections.
How players enter the program
At the start of training camp every year, a video explainer of the program is presented to each team. Players are given contact information for the two program administrators, one of whom is in attendance for each session. Both are doctors, one appointed by the NHLPA, the other by the NHL. There’s also a hotline available.
From there, there are two primary entry points.
One is voluntary. Players or their representatives (agents, teams) reach out to these administrators and tell them why they want to enter the program. The administrators determine next steps with the players.
“You just need to ask for help,” Ingram said.
The other entry point is mandatory. If a player is arrested, for example, for driving under the influence, possession of drugs or domestic violence, he’ll have a required check-in with an administrator, who will decide whether the player needs to enter the program.
If a player tests positive at a dangerously high level for what the union and NHL have identified as a “drug of abuse” (not a performance-enhancing drug, which is part of another program), that also triggers a mandatory consultation with the program administrator.
These triggers aren’t in the CBA but rather an amendment that was part of the joint agreement in creating the program. With either potential entry point, the player’s team doesn’t have to be notified unless the player is going to enter the program. Ullmark, for example, consulted with Gold but did not enter the program.
The NHLPA wouldn’t disclose how often these consultations happen because the talks remain confidential unless the player does enter.
The league and NHLPA do announce when a player enters. There’s no set rule for the timing of that announcement, but if the player is going to check into a facility for treatment, the announcement typically comes when the player is en route or has arrived. As soon as the player enters the program, he’s ineligible to play in games or practice with his team.
Where players go
The Nashville Predators’ Michael McCarron, Colorado Avalanche’s Sam Girard and Ingram all said they went to facilities in the Malibu area in California. They were with many patients, not just athletes or celebrities.
“You go to a (place) with a bunch of other people that don’t necessarily have the same issues as you,” said McCarron, who entered the program in December 2022 for help with substance abuse. “Sometimes, their (issues) are harder, worse. You’re surrounded by people that are really in it. It’s kind of scary in a way. But it was great for me.”
The program’s administrators have a network of clinicians and facilities around North America. Where a player ends up is largely based on the initial evaluation, factoring in what kind of help he needs and where he lives. Often, treatments are done virtually, with a player staying in the city he lives and plays in. Depending on the treatment plan, there could be a combination of both: a stay at a facility with follow-up virtual visits.
The facilities have all been vetted by the program’s administrators.
The program has a booking agency that arranges travel, when needed, and a program consultant meets the player in his city to accompany him. Administrators stay in touch with players while they’re in the facility.
Ingram first went into the program in 2021 while with the Predators, dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety. That’s when he spent time in a Malibu facility. He re-entered in March 2025 following the death of his mother and got help locally. Ingram said his therapist was just down the street and he’d visit him two or three times a week. He also saw a nearby neurologist.
Ingram said the program saved his hockey career — and maybe his life.
“I probably wasn’t going to make it unless I did it,” he said.
Who works with the players?
The medical professionals are provided through the network established by the program administrators. In many cases, they have worked with the program for years. They have a variety of areas of expertise: medical doctors, social workers, counselors, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists — whatever the players might need.
“There’s a mixture of different providers and treatments and plans because the player’s situation is going to be unique and it has to be tailored to him,” a program source said. “So I can’t say that a player with a mental health issue gets treated like X and the substance abuse issue gets treated like X. It’s about putting the right plan in place based on the unique circumstances of the player.”
Dr. Dave Lewis and Dr. Brian Shaw formed the program in 1996. Shaw is no longer involved. Gold, a clinical psychiatrist in New York, is the NHLPA’s current administrator. He’s been part of the program for more than five years. The NHL’s administrator is Justin Stamschror, a psychiatrist based in Washington.
What’s the program like?
Treatment plans are different for each player, tailored to what he’s dealing with.
Ingram’s experience in 2021, for example, was different than a player dealing with substance abuse. He found it to be flexible, especially when it came to the day-to-day.
“Day goes from 9 (a.m.) until 6 p.m.,” he said. “There’s a day where you have one-on-one therapy sessions, a psychiatrist or psychologist.”
Being treated for OCD, Ingram’s treatment focused on a healthy approach to activities through exposure therapy.
McCarron said he would go to a handful of meetings every day, all lasting around 30 minutes to an hour. They gave him tips and tricks on how to “live a healthy lifestyle.”
For example, every few days, a yoga instructor would come in. “They’re trying to give you new hobbies and just (help you) live a normal life,” McCarron said.
Ingram’s 42-day 2021 stay in the Malibu facility came during COVID-19-related restrictions, so patients were fully masked and weren’t allowed to go out and about. His phone was also taken away temporarily.
When a player is in a treatment facility, he can typically have contact with immediate family and his agent. But the level of contact is determined by circumstances. There may be people it’s not in his best interest to talk to.
Family is also sometimes encouraged or required to be included in the player’s treatment plan. McCarron said his sister visited him a few times.
“I pretty much shut off communication,” McCarron said. “I’d call my parents every day. I feel bad for my parents; they took the brunt of it. I’m sure they were thinking every day, ‘Is he OK? What is he going to do today?’ My mom probably had a few gray hairs from that time in her life. But it was needed. At some point, everyone is going to need help in certain situations in their life.
“It happens that I needed it at that time. I was lucky I was in the best league in the world and they were able to help me.”
Who pays?
The NHLPA and NHL share the cost of administering the program.
That covers, among other things, the program administrators’ fees and expenses incurred for travel and treatment.
Fees for providers and residential treatment are covered medical expenses for players under their NHL player self-funded insurance plan. None of it comes out of pocket.
How does a player exit the program?
The concept of being “out of” the player assistance program is a misnomer.
There’s generally a continuity of care that doesn’t end when a news release goes out saying, “Player X is returning to Team X after a stay in the player assistance program.”
But at some point, a determination is made to release a player from residential treatment by care providers at the treatment facility and the program administrators.
“You play by the rules when you’re there,” Ingram said. “It’s for the best. It’s what they do for a living. They decide when they think you’re ready.”
When a player is reinstated by the league, he still may have follow-up appointments, counseling and therapy. And he will still have access to program resources.
“It’s all about you,” said Girard, who entered the program in November 2023 to address alcohol abuse stemming from anxiety and depression. “For the 30 days you’re there, they’re going to help. But I can just go out and go drink again. It’s all about you. Are you willing to do the stuff for the best?”
Program consultants determine an after-care plan with the program administrators and will follow up daily or weekly, depending on the situation.
“If you’re going to use the program, you have to do the program,” Ingram said. “That’s the hardest part.”
What’s next?
During Walsh’s first tour of the league’s teams as NHLPA executive director in late 2023 and early ’24, he gave an introductory talk to each team.
He’d bring up his political career, his passion for sports and, within the first few minutes, he’d open up.
“I’m an alcoholic.”
Walsh noticed eyes perk up. It got players’ attention.
It also helps him connect to them.
Walsh got sober at age 28, in 1995. It was out of necessity. His “rock bottom” came after a series of bad nights — “blackouts and stuff like that,” he said.
“There was personal fear,” he said. “You feel like you’re broke. You keep up the facade on the outside. You don’t want people knowing. Inside, you’re like, ‘S—, I did it again. I blacked out again. I got in trouble again.’”
His boss at a local labor union strongly suggested he get help and gave him a number for Alcoholics Anonymous. Walsh started begrudgingly. He wanted to keep working, advancing his career. But in his first AA meeting, he heard a man talk about his struggles, and it hit home — made him feel less alone.
Walsh said AA ended up being “the greatest thing I did in my life.” He hasn’t had a drink since entering.
And it shapes how he feels about the player assistance program — how he wants it to grow. When he brought up his alcoholism with players, Walsh said there were several who came up to him and told him they were in recovery too.
“If someone is struggling out there, I know their life can get better,” Walsh said. “Every time I talk to a player who is entering the program, I tell them, ‘It’s about recovering your life first. Don’t worry about hockey.’”
The NHLPA continues to add programs around other areas of players’ health, including First Line, an education and leadership program developed to strengthen players’ mental health knowledge and skills. There’s also recently been a concussion committee established, seeking to help players understand CTE.
Education and awareness remain the highest priority.
“This can be a wake-up call for guys and our sport,” said a former NHL defenseman who participated in the player assistance program. “It’s still kind of a stigma to have an issue or to have something going on. Hockey players are supposed to show up and do our jobs. But to have guys in our corner to make sure we’re not alone with whatever you’re doing — that there’s a whole community of former and current players that are all going through some of the same stuff — it’s a support system of current and former players that’s really huge for guys to know they’re not alone.
“They’re going to be helped out in the time of need. And not buried underneath some issue.”