The conversation started on a serious note – prescription drug use in the NHL — and ended nearly six minutes later with Wayne Gretzky telling stories about exhibition games in San Antonio, Texas.
No one will accuse the Turner Sports NHL studio team of Gretzky, Anson Carter, Paul Bissonnette and Rick Tocchet, with host Liam McHugh, of being uninteresting.
What could have been an intermission segment on a Tuesday or Thursday night this NHL season provided an example of the breadth of their ideas and the team’s potential, one that will draw natural comparisons to the studio emblematic of the “Inside the NBA” network. to show.
“There really aren’t many topics that will be off-topic for us,” Carter said. “If it’s controversial, we’ll address it. We’re not looking for it, but we’re not running from it either.”
Tocchet started the conversation about medications – motivated by comments from Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner on Twitter this weekend – saying he had never seen a team force a player to take medication in his 18-year playing career or in his many years behind the bench as a coach.
“As a player, you are responsible for your own body,” Carter added.
Carter’s issue with Lehner’s comments stemmed from the call from Philadelphia Flyers coach Alain Vigneault; Vigneault denied everything related to it to the accusations and Lehner walked back his comments earlier this week.
“Because he kind of put it in this box without saying exactly what AV did,” he said.
Bissonnette, a former NHL executive and co-host of the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast on Barstool Sports, said the language barrier for Lehner could have been a factor. He spoke about his own personal experience: he was prescribed Percocet after wrist surgery. Bissonnette said he did not finish the bottle due to the body changes he had undergone, but that it was his own decision.
“At some point you have to take responsibility for what you’re given,” he said.
Lehner noted the sleep aid Ambien as a source of his own mental health problems; Bissonnette said he needed it to sleep because of the intensity late-night hockey requires.
“I had to watch that myself,” Bissonnette said. “It’s very difficult. Some of these players are very young. I hope we explain to them the consequences of abusing this type of thing, but overall, my personal experience, I have always been very careful when I was in the National Hockey League.
The conversation returned to “The Great”. Gretzky commented on the advancements in sports medicine during his playing career and spoke about the treatment he received before broadening the picture to fame and pressure.
“In those days, you were told to go home, take two aspirins and get a good night’s sleep,” he said. “Tomorrow we’re going to skate and sweat for an hour and a half. But that’s kind of how we saw it, right?
“Look, professional athletes make a lot of money and they deserve every penny they get. But there’s a lot of stress and pressure that comes with it, I think a lot of times the average fan doesn’t really know or understand.
Bissonnette took the opportunity to compare the concussion testing done in the American Hockey League early in his career to 10 years later when far more precautions were in place.
Eventually, the conversation turned to the camaraderie of the league and the number of exhibition games. Gretzky and Tocchet were cracking up about playing places like Texas. “I think part of it is that Robin Lehner is able to speak out about it,” said McHugh, the former NBC hockey studio host, who noted that he felt more free to move beyond on-ice strategy into a new network. “I know there’s a problem with (calling Vigneault), but he’s backed off, and I think it’s good that you allow people to speak out and ask questions.”
To perform at their best, Turner’s team knows they need to follow the same pattern, speak up and ask questions.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
