NHL Suspends Predators' Austin Watson Indefinitely for Alcohol Abuse

Watson has been placed in Stage Two of the league's substance abuse and behavioral health program.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson has been suspended without pay as part of the NHL’s substance abuse program.

The NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced Tuesday that Watson had been placed in Stage Two of the league’s substance abuse and behavioral health program “for treatment related exclusively to his ongoing issues with alcohol abuse.”

That means Watson is suspended without pay until program administrators clear him to return.

Watson already had served a suspension for the first 18 games of the season after pleading no contest to a domestic assault charge in July. Watson said in a Jan. 11 Instagram post that he’d been dealing with anxiety, depression and alcoholism since the age of 18. He said in the Instagram post that he was currently sober.