Nick Boynton's Post Career Struggles with addiction and concussions

CoolPapaBellhorn

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Aug 15, 2006
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Medfield
That's a tough read. Good for him for putting it out there.

It appears to be the Bruins that he's talking about here:

After a while, each day, and even entire chunks of the season, became almost like a daze. I was so medicated, and it began to get pretty frightening for me. So I decided that I needed to do something. I got my courage up, and got my shit together, and found a way to tell some people with the team I was playing for that I had a problem. It took everything I had in me to do that, but the response I received when I spoke to people was really uplifting. Everyone I talked to was so understanding. Every single person said they were there for me, and that they wanted to get me the help I needed.

A few weeks later, after the season had ended, I was back home in Nobleton, Ontario, at the old town hall, helping my folks set up for my sister’s buck and doe party before her wedding, when the phone rang.

One of my buddies had seen my name on the ESPN ticker.

“Nick, what the hell, man? I can’t believe it.”

I had no clue what he was talking about.

Turns out that less than a month after I’d gone to my team and asked for help, I got traded away to another city.

...

I asked for help, and I got shipped out. Lesson fucking learned.
Boynton was traded twice in the off-season, once by Boston (to Phoenix) and once by Phoenix (to Florida). As recently as 2015, he was working for the Coyotes, so there would seem to be no bad blood there. The Bruins were also his first NHL team, and the place where he played the most, so his friend's surprise would make sense.

Even if it is the Bruins, the two events could be unrelated, but that's not a great look.
 

luckysox

Indiana Jones
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Apr 21, 2009
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Bullshit they’re unrelated. And it’s not even an ok look, though I suspect its a common one. Hopefully his story makes a difference, but, like the NFL, the league and teams are businesses and the ONLY thing that will change this sort of thing is if it affects the bottom line.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
14,461
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Bullshit they’re unrelated. And it’s not even an ok look, though I suspect its a common one. Hopefully his story makes a difference, but, like the NFL, the league and teams are businesses and the ONLY thing that will change this sort of thing is if it affects the bottom line.
Peter Chiarelli was hired between the time that he told someone with the team about his issues and when he was traded. There’s a chance that Chiarelli just didn’t like him as a player.
 

lexrageorge

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Jul 31, 2007
18,096
Peter Chiarelli was hired between the time that he told someone with the team about his issues and when he was traded. There’s a chance that Chiarelli just didn’t like him as a player.
There were quite a bit of changes going on around the same time. O'Connell was fired, an interim GM was named, then Chiarelli was hired. Coach Mike Sullivan was replaced with Dave Lewis.