The former Washington capitals forward explained in an interview with SportsExpress that he had rheumatoid arthritis which plagued him for the entire year. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that cripples a person's joints which causes swelling, stiffness and a loss of function.
This is not the first time that he has entered the program as in 2019 as he tested positive for the use of cocaine. He was waived by the capitals and then traded to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Since leaving the program, he has decided to leave the NHL and signed a new four-year contract with the KHL SKA Saint Petersburg to which he walked away from a $6 million salary that he was owed as he was in his final year of his $64.2 million deal in the NHL.
There has been no mention of how much salary he will be paid from the Kontinental Hockey League.
Source: The Hockey News
POLL | ||
4 AOUT | 84 ANSWERS Former NHL player reveals reason for entering NHL player assistance program Should the Oilers have tried to sign Evgeny Kuznetsov? | ||
Yes | 23 | 27.4 % |
No | 61 | 72.6 % |
List of polls |