Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun: Rick Rypien of the Vancouver Canucks has been granted a leave of absence by the NHL. Rypien has been a healthy scratch recently, after coming back from a 6 game suspension for attacking a fan.
At the end of today’s practice, the team was summoned to a quite where the they were likely told.
Coach Alain Vigneault would only say it was for a personal matter.
Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun: Two years ago, Rypien also missed time for ‘personal’ reasons. “But Rypien’s “personal” issues are widely believed related to the 25-year-old’s mental health. The Canucks will be doing everything they can to help him.” The team will stick by Rypien, they have a full time team psychologist.
