from Douglas Quan of the National Post,

Connecting with ex-NHL tough guy Stephen Peat is an exercise in frustration. He’ll reply to some of your messages and completely ignore others. He says he will see you at Tim Horton’s in 15 minutes but then show up one-and-a-half hours late.

When he finally does show up though, frustration gives way to sympathy. How can it not? After slurping down an iced coffee and inhaling a chocolate-glazed donut, the broad-shouldered 37-year-old — once known for his explosive fights on the ice — hunches over the table and rests his head in the palms of his thick hands. His eyes flit left and right as he recounts his daily struggle to deal with headaches, memory loss and anxiety — symptoms he believes are related to repeated concussions.

Since spring, Peat has been homeless in the Surrey, B.C., area — rotating between motels, Airbnb rentals, his female companion’s parents’ trailer home and the cab of his 2005 GMC pickup truck.

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