While he last wore the bleu, blanc, et rouge back in 2009, former NHL forward Guillaume Latendresse remains deeply connected to the Montreal Canadiens fan base.
Latendresse hosts the popular La Poche Bleue podcast with fellow ex-Hab Maxim Lapierre and regularly serves as a hockey analyst for TVA Sports and 98.5 FM. With that said, Montreal’s hockey coverage will have a noticeable gap, as each of these outlets will be without him for the foreseeable future.
On Wednesday, the 37-year-old announced he’s stepping away from his professional commitments to focus on his mental health.
“I’m going through a difficult time mentally right now,” Latendresses wrote in a lengthy X post on Wednesday.
Merci pic.twitter.com/BQxwBZAc3N
— TheTender1987 (@thetender1987) November 13, 2024
The Sainte-Catherine, Quebec, native said he suspects his issues stem from concussions he sustained over his eight NHL seasons with the Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, and Ottawa Senators.
“It’s been a recurring situation for a few years, probably a symptom of my concussions during my career and I decided to try to resolve my problem this week,” he added. “It’s something I should have done for a few years now, but I’ve always put it off,”
Toward the end of his statement, Latendresse thanked his family and colleagues, who have been very understanding following this decision.
Speaking with TVA host Jean-Charles Lavoie after Latendresse’s post went public, Lapierre echoed that his friend and former teammate should take all the time he needs.
“I’ve been around him most of our adult lives, I see him almost every day, we played hockey and I know how difficult a fight it is,” he explained. “When you start to accumulate concussions and the stress takes over, for the quality of life, at some point, it’s important to think about yourself.”
While there’s no telling when Latendresse, who was drafted 45th overall by the Canadiens in 2005, will be ready to return to work, his decision has the full support of those closest to him.
“It was the right thing to do and I respect that enormously,” Lapierre concluded.