Former NHLer says he got 'insane' amount of drugs while playing; credits one team for getting him off it
In response to the accusations levelled at NHL teams over the weekend by Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner, one former NHLer says he was given an "insane" amount of prescription drugs by an NHL team or teams while dealing with an injury.
"Good for @RobinLehner standing up for the greater good," said Tom Sestito on his Twitter account. "I can only speak for myself, the amount of vitamin T (Toradol) and Ambien I was given is insane. As the NHL is getting a lot younger these kids should know what they are walking into."
Asked if anyone ever discussed the side effects of the drugs he was being given or whether he was just handed a bottle, Sestito had this to say:
"I was given a bottle of Toradol, I was a fringe player in the NHL after taking [them] I felt amazing. Not a pain in my body, you're taught to believe that the doctors have your best interest where that's not always the case. And no they don't explain all the drugs they provide."
Sestito does not indicate that he was given these drugs without a prescription, but appears to imply he was given much more than he should have been taking. He also added that not all teams are like this.
"Also, there are great organizations in the NHL. [Pittsburgh Penguins'] team of doctors were the ones to get me off all that shit, and were dumbfounded as to why I had all of it to begin with."
Ketorolac, sold under the brand name Toradol (and others), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat moderate to severe pain. Ambien, which Lehner also mentioned in his Tweets on Saturday, is mainly used to treat sleep issues, and in commonly prescribed for anxiety-induced insomnia.
Sestito, a draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets, played a total of 154 NHL games for Columbus, Vancouver, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. He also played close to 400 regular season games in the AHL for various teams. Sestito was an agitator who was not afraid to get under opponents' skin and drop the gloves when he had to. While with the Canucks, Sestito made headlines after accumulating twenty-seven combined penalty minutes while officially receiving only one second of total ice time in a game against the Los Angeles Kings on January 13, 2014.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nikita Kucherov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Sean Couturier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Will Cuylle | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Lars Eller | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Filip Forsberg | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Morgan Frost | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Luke Glendening | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Thomas Harley | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Erik Haula | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ivan Ivan | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Kyrou | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Anders Lee | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Niko Mikkola | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nicklaus Perbix | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Tyler Seguin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jamie Benn | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||