Alright, listen up, sports fans! The Calgary Flames threw a bit of a curveball into the hockey news vortex today: they’ve given the green light to forward Dillon Dubé to take a break from their hockey huddle. He’s stepping away for a bit to get his mind right, and the team’s basically saying, “Leave the dude alone while he does his thing,” per their very own tweet-announcement.
So here’s the scoop straight from the horse’s mouth:
“Dillon Dubé has been granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team while he attends to his mental health. Dillon is under the care of health professionals, and we request that Dillon’s privacy is respected during this period.”
Let’s get real for a sec—Dubé’s been riding quite the struggle bus lately, okay? His scoreboard’s been a big ol’ goose egg since November twenty-fifth, and he’s been warming the bench more than he’s been hitting the ice. Imagine that, when just a hop, skip, and a jump ago, this guy was lighting the lamp like nobody’s business with eighteen goals and a cool forty-five points. Now? He’s finding himself chilling in the peanut gallery, not even sporting his gear. Ouch. Not a fab look, especially when he’s on the clock for a new contract.
Despite the tough times on the stat sheet, let’s give the guy a round of applause for putting his noggin’ first. Seriously, people, life’s more than dribbling a puck around—props to Dubé for calling a timeout.
And what’s this mean for the Flames? Well, with Dubé out of the picture for who knows how long, whispers are that Matt Coronato might slide up to the big kid’s table. Meanwhile, the Flames’ game plan for Dubé’s MIA situation is as much of a mystery as Bigfoot’s real name. Cast your minds back to 2021, when Jonathan Drouin ghosted the Montreal Canadiens, and they slapped him on the long-term injure reserve. Could that be the Flames’ secret playbook move? Time will tell, my friends.
From all of us here at PHR, we’re sending fist-bumps and high-fives to Dubé. Get back on your skates when ready, champ!