Robin Lehner to NHL: ‘I don’t wanna burn it down, I wanna get change’

By Frank Seravalli

Two days after flipping the hockey world on its head with a string of tweets, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner offered clarity and insight into his mission.

There was no doubt Lehner captured everyone’s attention with the alarming accusations levied about improper distribution of prescription drugs by teams. 

Lehner convened with NHL Players’ Association officials on Sunday after sending the tweets while on a team retreat at team owner Bill Foley’s ranch in Montana. The NHL also confirmed it made contact with Lehner over the weekend to set up a meeting with league officials, which has not yet been scheduled.

In a series of messages exchanged with Daily Faceoff on Sunday and Monday, Lehner said the meeting with the NHLPA was a “great talk,” but wanted to make clear that he was not alleging Philadelphia Flyers coach Alain Vigneault distributed pills to players.

Rather, because Lehner had tweeted earlier in his thread alleging teams provide players with prescription sleep aid Ambien and prescription benzodiazepines, highly addictive drugs which slow brain activity, that Vigneault was lumped into the same topic without proper context.

“I just want people to know that I didn’t say that he gave them out,” Lehner wrote to Daily Faceoff. “People should understand I don’t mean that the coach gives out the pills. I know how he has treated players with mental issues.”

Lehner did not elaborate further when asked.

Vigneault, who never coached Lehner, responded after Flyers practice on Monday.

“I don’t know the young man [Lehner],” Vigneault told reporters. “The two things he said about me … Dinosaur? I consider myself experienced. Dinosaur? You could say with experience, you become a dinosaur, maybe.

“But I do know I’ve been coaching a few years. I am tough. I am demanding. But I care about my players. I want their best. Through the years, there’s probably been some guys that liked me, some maybe a little bit less. But I’ve done it with the best intention, with respect.

“Like I said, I don’t know the young man that said that. As far as the other thing, me pushing pills? I don’t need another income. I have no idea where that comes from. I don’t know what else to say. I have no idea.”

Lehner threatened in a tweet on Saturday to release a story each day “with proof” from “myself, ex players [sic] and current players on what is going on” until he saw change.

Lehner first raised the issue with the NHLPA privately on Friday before sending the tweets. After his phone conversations with the NHLPA on Sunday, he said he chose not to drop any more bombs in the hope that change is on the horizon.

“No one can muzzle me. But we did have a really good conversation with NHLPA today,” Lehner wrote Sunday night. “Waiting on meeting with NHL. All I want is change, that’s why I took my stance. If we can work [on] something, I have no reason to keep talking about it. My sole purpose is dialogue and making things better.

“I don’t wanna burn it down. I wanna get change. I don’t wanna do this, it sucks for me. But [I] see what’s going on, I can’t hold back. Great talk with the NHLPA today. I hope same with the league.”

From the NHLPA’s perspective, the player’s union believes it has made significant progress in recent years after fundamental changes were made to the Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2013, which called for monitoring and closer tracking of pain medication and sleep aids.

Lehner says he’s told the NHLPA change has been needed for three years.

“I ask them every year why they haven’t fixed the Ambien situation,” Lehner wrote. “They were in rehab with me. They knew exactly what was happening.”

Lehner has been an open book. His Twitter bio says “proud bipolar person.” He has openly discussed his mental health journey, battles with addiction and time in rehab. Even so, Saturday’s string of tweets were more or less unprecedented in hockey circles. Rarely has an active NHL player been so candid – let alone about such a sensitive subject.

Lehner’s peers have taken notice. Since hitting send on his tweets, Lehner said he has been contacted by other current and former players, who have expressed some of the same concerns and offered encouragement.

He passed along a screen shot of a conversation with an anonymous former NHL player that read: “Glad you’re stepping up man. Wish I had courage when I played [team redacted] when [redacted] was there. Had me taking Ambien, Xanax and Toradol.”

On Monday, former NHL player Tom Sestito tweeted a similar message.

Lehner has embarked on his mission with clear eyes. His tweets may have garnered a lot of attention, but they were intended to start an important conversation to help others. Wherever that conversation goes from here, consider it mission accomplished.

“Most importantly I’m doing this because I’ve almost died many times and seen others and talked to others,” Lehner wrote. “All come[s] from the start of malpractice from teams. And yes, we [as players] have responsibility. But to give a 19-year-old guy in myself crazy amount of Ambien to start my career is insane. Then docs know it almost kills me and saw my reports in rehab and still never mention them and still give them out. They are still ‘only’ sleeping pills. No education about what they actually do to you.”