Patrik Laine's fiancée says entering player's assistance program was 'one of the scariest' decisions he had to make: 'There's a lot of pressure'

Montreal Canadiens player Patrik Laine’s fiancée, Jordan Leigh, is opening up about the impact of his decision to temporarily step away from hockey due to mental health issues. In a preview for a new interview with licensed marriage and family therapist Kati Morton, Leigh addressed Laine’s decision to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and seek treatment in January 2024.

Speaking on behalf of her fiancé, who was playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets when he entered the program, Leigh said it was “one of the scariest” decisions the now 26-year-old Finnish hockey player has ever had to make.

“There’s a lot of pressure when you’re in that space and everybody wants you to do well,” said Leigh, a mental health counselling master’s candidate at New York University.

Leigh, who got engaged to Laine in August 2024, said people were “overwhelmingly” positive and receptive to his decision to not only seek treatment, but to share the reason publicly with fans.

“It really showed a lot of people that Patty is human,” she said. "I think that a lot of times a problem that happens in the hockey world is that these guys are idolized — which is you know it’s cool to feel like a superstar. There’s two different ways that you can dehumanize somebody and one is dismissing them, but the other is idolizing them.”

Leigh said both she and Laine received messages from people saying they were compelled to prioritize their own mental health because of Laine’s decision to share his struggles.

Laine was part of the assistance program for approximately six months. Since then, Laine and Leigh founded “From Us to You,” a mental health initiative that provides resources, offers advice and encourages people to share their stories.

In an August 2024 video for “From Us to You” Laine encouraged people to “be brave enough to ask for help.”

“I’ve struggled with that a lot,” Laine said. “ I feel like with a lot of people there’s a lot of shame about being too proud to reach out and ask for help... For me it felt like I was complaining, but people want to listen. They want to help.”

Laine said talking to his therapist three times a week has been “a lifesaver.”

“Whether it’s mental health related or whatever it is, let’s talk about it more than we do in today’s world,” Laine said.

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