It has been reported by TVA Sports reporter Renaud Lavoie that the league “should” include testing for cocaine by the end of this season.
Lavoie broke the news on Twitter today but as of right now nothing has been finalized. The next couple of tweets come courtesy of Lavoie.
All the NHL drug-testing should include cocaine test by the end of the season if everything is going according to plan. Nothing finalize yet
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 23, 2015
If a player test positive to cocaine, they'll be no suspension, but help will be given with the substance abuse program of the NHL and PA.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 23, 2015
Only suspension is if a player needs to go to Stage 2 of the joint substance program. But like I said, nothing finalize yet.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 23, 2015
The news really shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who has been paying attention to the NHL this season as the league had a couple of issues the past couple of offseasons with the drug. Most recently Jarett Stoll, formerly of the LA Kings and now with the NY Rangers, was charged with cocaine possession and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge this past summer. You also recently had Viktor Loov tell a Swedish newspaper that there is “a lot of cocaine” in the NHL.
The problem for the league then becomes a double-edged sword of sorts. You have the issue of only now testing for cocaine, which makes the league look amateurish in its handling of the problem. They are trying to mop up a mess that they themselves are responsible for. While on the other hand you have a fairly lenient policy to start off with which may prove vital to players with real addiction problems.
The league obviously views this as a problem now and because of it have brought down a swift rule change. A big step for a league, but has it come too late? Is it enough?