Goaltender Jack Campbell has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, with an indefinite timeline for his return. NHL public relations announced the news Friday afternoon.
The Red Wings signed the 32-year-old Port Huron native to a one-year, $775,000 league minimum contract in free agency, following the Edmonton Oilers buying out his contract. Campbell projected to be an AHL backup for Grand Rapids’ returning starter, Sebastian Cossa. Campbell most recently played as the backup in the Red Wings’ Monday night preseason game in Buffalo.
Campbell was a first round pick, 11th overall to the Dallas Stars, in the 2010 NHL Draft. Early in his career, he struggled with the pressure of being such a highly touted prospect until finding confidence with the help of Los Angeles Kings coach Dusty Imoo. With that, he revitalized his career that included stops in Toronto and Edmonton before coming to Detroit. Reporter Joshua Clipperton detailed Campbell’s mental health journey in a February 2020 article in The Globe and Mail, which can be found here.
Players don’t enter the assistance program lightly, so all hopes are that Campbell can address whatever issues he was dealing with for his own well-being. Hockey is, after all, a career, and personal lives are often forgotten in that equation.
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