EDMONTON — This is not the second chance for Zack Kassian, it's his final chance in the National Hockey League.
His October car accident in Montreal after a night of partying got his attention the way last July's trade from the Vancouver Canucks' did not.
It also got him dumped by the Canadiens after Kassian, who suffered a broken foot as a passenger in the pickup truck that slammed into a tree four days before Montreal's season opener, spent two months in Stage 2 of the league's Substance Abuse and Behavioural Health Program.
His almost inexplicable popularity with fans during 3½ seasons in the Vancouver Canucks' organization never computed for three different coaches who probably knew much more about Kassian than most of us.