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Kassian getting help for alcoholism, hoping for fresh start with Oilers

Bruce Kluckhohn / National Hockey League / Getty

Zack Kassian's stint with the Montreal Canadiens was, simply put, a disaster.

After being an offseason free-agent acquisition, Kassian's tenure with the club finished before it even began after the 24-year-old broke his nose and foot in an early morning car accident in October. Kassian was under the influence.

"Where I was before all this happened wasn’t in a good place,” Kassian told Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun. "It was tough emotionally, mentally and even physically. It was draining. And I say that not looking for any sympathy for anyone. I put in a lot of work the last three months. I really think I’m leaving there as a different person."

Kassian spent 90 days completing the NHL's substance abuse and behavioral health program before a Dec 28 trade sent him to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for goaltender Ben Scrivens.

"As you not only go through the program but also do it during the first half of a hockey season, you have a lot of alone time," said Kassian. "That’s when you realize what you love to do, what makes you happy. Once I got some clarity it was first family and then hockey. When you have something taken from you for a period of time and you don’t know if you’re going to get it back, it’s scary. It’s very scary.

"It really hits home. It really digs deep and makes you realize that you are the problem. You can point the fingers anywhere you want but that going forward it’s going to be your actions, not words, that are going to speak louder than anything else.

In a new environment with a fresh start - playing with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors - Kassian is hoping to he can make his stay in Edmonton permanent.

"I really want to turn my life around and I really want to make this home," said Kassian. "I really want to prove a lot of people wrong. But most of all I want to prove to myself that I can do this - that I can change around."

Kassian is doing well to live up to that, with one goal in two games as a Condor.

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