Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of the NHLPA.
by Bald Pollack on Nov 3, 2009 9:34 AM EST
16 comments
A little while ago, some fool mused on the firing of NHL Players' Association Director Paul Kelly and the possible impact it would have on a lockout/strike after the 2010-11 season. At the time, I mused that League General Counsel (and interim Director) Ian Penny, union ombudsman Buzz Hargrove and former ombudsman Eric Lindros "should be given a short leash to work with," but if you had odds on what happened next, you'd be a rich man. More after the jump.
The biggest events by far would be Penny's resignation. Mirtle has posted the text of Penny's letter sent shortly before his dismissal, which I encourage everyone to read. Not only does it burn any possible bridge of reconciliation, but it salts the earth afterwards. The biggest culprit thrown under the bus would have to be Chris Chelios, one of four members of the Union's review committee which was put together to find out more about Kelly's firing and to serve as a housecleaning measure of sorts (Rob Blake, Nicklas Lidstrom and Mark Recchi are the others). Now, Kelly's dismissal was something that stuck in the craw of a few union members more for the way it was done than anything else, but it appears that Chelios was most offended by this, and appears to be waging a vendetta against those responsible for it. Penny was part of the Hargrove/Lindros camp that felt that Kelly's methods were unconventional and possibly damaging to the union. Frankly, if informally communicating to management could benefit the union in future labor negotiations, why anyone would object to the tactic is beyond me, but maybe that's naivete on my part.
Along with Penny's dismissal, Steve Larmer, former teammate of Chelios in Chicago, who served as one of the members of the Advisory Board resigned on Friday, citing the "long-term damage" that Chelios and the committee were doing to the union based on their current practices. He was not the only one; when turning in his resignation, advirosry board chairman Ron Pink questioned the constitutionality of what the committee was doing. Three other board members (Dan O'Neill, Ron Lloyd and Ian Troop) also stepped down from the board.
But the most important message in the wave of resignations may come from advisory board member (and former union VP and New York Islander) Ken Baumgartner, who tendered his resignation. His message was more passionate to the union members, whose continued apathy is both offensive and tragic. "The strength of the union lies in your locker rooms..." is something simple that the union can follow, yet continue not to adhere to. One can question Chelios' actions and intentions, but when union meetings need to suspended due to lack of a quorum, especially in light of recent events, having a 47-year old AHL player as the guy running the show for the Union might be what the Union deserves most of all right now.
If this FanPost is written by someone other than one of the blog's authors, the opinions expressed in it do not necessarily reflect those of this blog or SB Nation.
2 recs |
16 comments
| Add comment
Email
Print
Comments
I should probably pay a lot more attention to this stuff than I am.. I just can’t make myself care.
Please no lockout, please no lockout, please no lockout.
Maybe play with an edge, be a little more physical -- maybe be more of a prick out there.
by jordanDC on Nov 3, 2009 2:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
If the union is this disorganized, there likely won’t be a lock out. Likely what will happen is an extension of the current agreement until the NHLPA becomes an effective collective bargaining partner.
You’d think they would have learned something after Alan Eagleson…
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Caps on Nov 3, 2009 4:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I’m not even sure what else anyone can do or say. This is such a highly dysfunctional situation and I can’t imagine it being resolved cleanly (too late for that really, right?). Good job keeping tabs on it but what is even left to say?
If consequences dictate the course of action, then it doesn't matter what's right, it's only wrong if you get caught. If consequences dictate the course of action, then I should play God...
by Fehr and Balanced on Nov 3, 2009 3:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
League General Counsel (and interim Director) Brad Penny
Maybe the dysfunction results from him focusing on 95mph fastballs all summer instead of the NHLPA.
by Cluster on Nov 3, 2009 4:16 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Nicely done. And edited.
"I'm just doing karate and trying to get females pregnant."
by Bald Pollack on Nov 3, 2009 4:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Ugh. Never a fan of Chelios as a player — worst combo of cheap-shot artist, particularly with his stick, and cry ass — but this is a much more important deal than his on-ice annoyances. As much as I feel like professional sports athletes need to be well protected due to their inherent high risk lifestyle, both regarding the extremely short life-span of their careers as well as long-term health issues that often arise, they often need most protection from themselves and their incompetent “leadership” (see Upshaw, Gene)
Hopefully the league and the players can find a nice mix between the disastrous CBAs of the NFL (disastrous to the players) and the NBA (disastrous to the motivation and thereby watchability of the sport).
God kills a kitten every time Sidney whines.
by Chris meet Alex on Nov 3, 2009 5:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
That implies the union will be in bargaining shape by then.
If there’s even a remote chance that Chelios is doing this with good intentions of restoring the union to whatever power it had a few years ago, good, fine. Penny was, after all, part of a bureaucratic coup in getting the player reps to force Kelly out. But at this point it seems like he’s using this power to settle scores without the best interests of the player base, and he’s not even a player, which makes it look even worse.
"I'm just doing karate and trying to get females pregnant."
by Bald Pollack on Nov 4, 2009 7:40 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
This kinda stuff is much more in my wheelhouse than the stats break down at Japers (which is why I love Japers’ stats).
My main interest in these politics though, stems from how the ineptness of the NHLPA will affect the Olympic Negotiations. OV’s playing aside, I am a strong supporter of professionals playing for their countries in the Olympics in general.
I do understand the Owners and players risk, which then creates one of the inspiring stories similar to a general hockey tenant; Sacrifice and Risk. Players risk their salaries for their country just like they risk their bodies for their teams in the playoffs (sans pay mind you)
The floundering of the NHLPA may prevent a lockount and a “continuation” of the CBA but what happens to the issues the Owners want to negotiate such as the Olympics? or the nitty gritty like the escrow calculation? I don’t see who or how the NHLPA will have any power at the table.
by MetalCap on Nov 3, 2009 9:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Trying to get up to speed, here
Is this right?
Paul Kelly gets fired by a cabal of Pink, Hargrove, Lindros, and (to a lesser extent?) Penny, much to the disgust of players, reporters, and respected professionals who have been around hockey for a while. The dust-up is such that a 4-person review panel was created to investigate the firing (and included Chelios).
Chelios, a Kelly supporter, does what a lot of people might assume he would do as a member of such a panel and attacks the guys in the cabal since there were no other repercussions forthcoming. Chelios is now seen as the newest cancer in the NHLPA since this kind of head-hunting feud isn’t good for the union as a whole, even though no one else was going to hold Pink, Hargrove, et. al. accountable, and they were essentially free to run the union—and possibly the sport—into the ground.
I guess my question is: I could give a fig about Chelios in general, but where were Larmer, Baumgartner, and the others denouncing him & resigning when Kelly—by all accounts the best thing ever to happen to the NHLPA—was being ousted? Why are we getting so up in arms about Chelios fighting fire with fire…was the alternative of letting Pink, Hargrove, and Lindros run the NHLPA like it was their private fief perfectly fine since they arranged it “legally” by a rep vote?
It seems like a great job of bait-and-switch by Pink, Hargrove and Co.: everyone’s calling for Chelios’s head while they try to hold on to theirs.
p.s. Have the results of the audit that Kelly mandated—and led to Lindros’s ouster—ever been published?
by Whisp on Nov 5, 2009 11:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I’d guess that Chelios’ sniping at the cabal while the union flounders without a Director on the cusp of CBA negotiations may be a case of misplaced priorities, but I certainly see what you’re saying, it only helps the cause of the anti-Kelly lobby, but from what I’ve read, Cheli and Penny were buds, so unless this rankled him so, the reasons for that rift are also a mystery.
I’ve never seen a full report of the Kelly “committee” (as it were), but have read rumblings of Eric not looking good in it.
"I'm just doing karate and trying to get females pregnant."
by Bald Pollack on Nov 6, 2009 9:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Whisper…Buzz Hargrove may resign as Ombudsman before the conf call, where sources say, its expected he will get voted out.
"I'm just doing karate and trying to get females pregnant."
by Bald Pollack on Nov 6, 2009 11:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Allan Maki with an excellent article that also helps bring people up to speed ahead of Sunday’s call. Note a familiar Caps alum in there too.
"I'm just doing karate and trying to get females pregnant."
by Bald Pollack on Nov 7, 2009 2:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Friedman with a must-read about where the Union was at the time of the lockout and what they’ve done since then.
"I'm just doing karate and trying to get females pregnant."
by Bald Pollack on Nov 7, 2009 6:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
As expected, Hargrove resigns. Among other things, he mentions the Review Committee was acting like Big Brother over the ombudsman, including being forced to notify the committee of who was filing any possible complaints of union action.
"I'm just doing karate and trying to get females pregnant."
by Bald Pollack on Nov 8, 2009 7:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Join the community and dive in!
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recent FanShots
Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Washington
|
22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 30 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 23 |
|
Atlanta
|
18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 22 |
|
Florida
|
20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 20 |
|
Carolina
|
21 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 13 |
(updated 11.21.2009 at 8:36 AM EST)
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
