Devin Setoguchi gets tryout from Maple Leafs after stint in rehab
Former 30-goal scorer Devin Setoguchi is thankful for another chance to get his career back on track. He'll head to Maple Leafs camp on a tryout deal after checking into rehab last spring.
By
Chris Peters
•
2 min read
Devin Setoguchi is only 28 years old and a former 30-goal scorer, but over the last few years his NHL career has been in precipitous decline. The former No. 8 overall pick managed to play in just 12 games last season while with the Calgary Flames.
In an interview with Andrew Walker on SN590 radio in Toronto (audio here), Setoguchi shed some light on some personal woes that have negatively impacted his playing career and what he's been doing about it.
“I was in a tough position this year,” Setoguchi told Walker. “A lot of things have been going on. I ended up going to rehab in April.”
Setoguchi said he went through the NHL’s Substance Abuse/Behavioral Health Program, committed himself to training hard over the summer months and now has an opportunity to get his career back on track.
He signed a professional tryout contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in hopes of earning a full-time deal with the club this season. It’s a chance that Setoguchi told Walker he is thankful for.
“Around the league, my rep the last couple of years and my word has not really meant much,” said the three-time 20-plus goal scorer. “I had gotten to the point where I had diminished any kind of merit in the league. No one really believed what I was saying.
“I still have a lot to prove this year. I feel thankful that Toronto was able to give me the PTO.”
Setoguchi cited playing for Todd McLellan with the San Jose Sharks as really helping his career and how to stay structured. McLellan is a former protégé to current Toronto Maple Leafs bench boss Mike Babcock. The former Shark said he is looking forward to getting into that same kind of structured, professional environment with this tryout opportunity under Babcock.
When a player gets red flags put on him like the kind Setoguchi has right now, it can be very difficult to get back in. He said he had only two options available to him this summer.
The last two seasons had been particularly rough for Setoguchi. He had just 27 points in 75 games with the Winnipeg Jets in 2013-14, the same total he had in nearly 30 fewer games the season before. After signing with the Flames, things went south quickly. He was sent down to the AHL in November and never was recalled.
Not only is Setoguchi looking to get his career on track this offseason, but he’s already taken steps to better his life as well. He recently got married (his wedding reception recently went viral thanks to some modern dance from close friends and groomsmen Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks and Jason Demers of the San Jose Sharks) and he also said he is under 200 pounds for the first time in about nine years.
This could be Setoguchi's last shot to prove not only that he can play but that he can carry himself professionally off the ice as well. If he manages to bounce back, it could benefit the Maple Leafs who are currently in rebuilding mode and need contributions from stop-gap veterans.
In 471 career games in the NHL, Setoguchi has 249 points.
[H/T TheScore]
