The Calgary Flames will be without one of their more versatile forwards for the next while. The club announced on Sunday morning that forward Dillon Dube has been granted a leave of absence to attend to his mental health.

Dube, 25, was the Flames’ second round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft. He’s carved out a very respectable hockey career for himself, capturing a WHL Championship, winning a couple medals for Canada at the World Juniors, and playing 325 games with the Flames since debuting in the NHL midway through the 2018-19 season. Milan Lucic attributed recapturing his love of the game, in part, from playing with Dube during the youngster’s early stretches in the NHL.

He’s had a challenging 2023-24 season, though, with just seven points over 43 games playing primarily as a centre and right wing on the Flames’ fourth line. Quite simply, in terms of on-ice performance, he hasn’t been the Dube we’ve seen in previous seasons.

Hockey’s obviously a very small part of life, and a person’s health – including mental health – is paramount to having a good life. Here’s hoping Dube can get back to where he wants to be health-wise.

Given the circumstances, quite understandably no timelines or additional details were given surrounding Dube’s absence from the hockey club. The Flames also requested that Dube’s privacy be respected during this period.