Paul Kelly's firing and the potential for another lockout.

This is scary stuff. This league cannot afford to have another work stoppage whether it be the players or the owners that do the stopping.

I’ve never understood how Lindros got appointed to that position in the first place.

Nice work BP.

really well hashed out, BP.

So, Eric Lindros is burning bridges again. NHL ombudsman seems a bit out his reach—did he really accomplish anything in the role?

Great work BP. The solution: Fire ’em all and let G.O.D. sort it out.

Seriously, how the fuck could the NHL look at the way Lindros managed his own, personal, professional affairs and think he’d be a good fit for the union. Guy was a total ass and now we want to give him the keys? If there is another lockout over this bullshit the league will seriously suffer. Unfortunately for me, I’m incapable of turning my back so if/when hockey comes back on TV (hopefully a channel I don’t have to add a cable package to get) I’ll be watching again. This is pathetic. And now I’m fired up for the day. Thanks, BP, thanks.

No problem.

What’s additionally scary in all this is that I’m sure I’m nowhere near the level of depth that more qualified folks probably have. Some hidden tracks follow:

- It seems a lot more people are willing to dance on Hargrove’s grave than celebrate his life, and those up north who are more familiar with him tend to be more disgusted by him, and are amazed the Union would have even brought him into the fold in the first place.

- Basically they need to move on naming a new E.D. sooner rather than later, so it seems like they’ll either make Penny permanent, or hire a yes man so close to the negotiating window he’ll have no other choice but to go off their recommendations. Even if the latter happens, Vincent Damphousse (who used to be former VP) seems to think a new man would have to be working like the guy they fired in order to be remotely effective for the Union.

- Most articles I’ve read seem to peg Lindros, Penny, Hargrove and Ron Pink (head of the Union’s Advisory Board) as guys who are willing to plan out and execute Goodenow-type strategies, which worked out so well before.

There’s a lot that has to be done/made public, including the list of reasons for firing him, but at this point, it’s hard to see how this is a positive for either the Union or the league in general come CBA negotiations.

To answer the “What Lindros did as Ombudsman?” question, it appears that he fielded player concerns and addressed them with Kelly, and generally tried to ensure that there wasn’t an abuse of power by the E.D. The E.D. has no control over the Ombudsman in the Union’s Constitution; the player reps have it, along with control over the G.C. Sports Business Journal has some fascinating reading about the behind the scenes stuff, if you can find it/want to subscribe to it.

Then there’s some interesting things on how good Lindros was at his job late last year:

Glen Healy of the NHLPA told Metro he has not seen Lindros in at least three weeks, comments echoed by several other union employees.

"Eric’s not easily accessible," an NHLPA employee said. "You can’t leave him voice mail anywhere and he seldom comes into our office. We haven’t seen him in a very long time."

CBC hockey analyst Mike Milbury, a former NHL general manager, coach and player, said the other day he has information that the NHLPA feels Lindros has been doing a poor job as ombudsman and has been causing problems between the players and executive director Paul Kelly.

So the idea was to fire a former federal prosecutor who’d been doing a decent job on the word of a guy who retired as a player because he got his brains mashed to a pulp by Scott Stevens?

Wording intentionally inflammatory, but what the fuck?

The major things I remember about Kelly are a) not trying to be antagonistic with the league and b) looking out for player safety. I personally think those are the 2 biggest issues facing the NHL right now

Bingo, but I see them as the biggest issues facing the union right now. I’ve started to get family and friends into hockey, but there’s no way they stay with it through the lockout. I’d be back, but they probably wouldn’t.

I can’t remember a single incident where I thought, “Wow, Eric Lindros exercised good judgment”. I can’t imagine a career’s worth of concussions have improved the situation, even if they haven’t caused outright deterioration. The whole Nordiques thing left an awfully sour taste in my mouth.

Bingo, but I see them as the biggest issues facing the union right now.

Well the increasing percentage of escrow is probably a bone of contention for the players as well, along with a better TV deal and a bigger piece of same.

Interesting – Mirtle has a quotation from a NESN analyst (I’m not sure what the etiquette is here, so apologies if I bunged it up) at the top of this article.

Essentially, Kelly ordered a forensic accounting audit of the expenses from the Union and Lindros resigned over the findings, which are alleged to be in the millions of dollars spent inappropriately. This gets more and more toxic.

great roundup. It is very difficult for me to see either side being stupid enough to start another labor dispute. It’ll be interesting to see if the threat of the KHL has much impact on the new CBA

Mirtle, as always, is staying on top of this. He has a post with some new information up. It is being said that Kelley “peeked” at a confidential transcript from a closed door NHLPA session.

But Brendan Shanahan isn’t like this much at all:

“It followed the constitution, but I think the timing makes me nervous and the timing makes a little suspicious when we’re only 10 days away from having access to all 700 players,” Shanahan told Devils reporter Tom Gulitti. “Why did this have to be done in such a hurried fashion? We made that mistake a few years ago, hurrying it through with (Bob) Goodenow and (Ted) Saskin and I thought we learned from that mistake. In the end, it might be the right decision, but I still don’t like the way it was done and I’m still waiting for some answers.”

and now Glenn Healy, Director of Player Affairs of the NHLPA, has resigned, per TSN

Glenn Healy has resigned as Director of Player Affairs of the NHLPA, saying his credibility was undermined by an internal report and comments by Interim Executive Director Ian Penny, including criticism of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, at the weekend Chicago meeting that resulted in Executive Director Paul Kelly’s firing.

This does not bode well. A long term lockout will likely lead to contraction, which will then limit the number of NHL player positions available, shorten the pool of money and more importantly, provide greater srength and credence for alternative KHL and SEL jobs.

 I won’t be back as a STH in the even of a strike – bank that one.
I’d rather have back to back 70 point seasons (again) than a year without hockey.

This isn’t funny at all……

I love Craig Custance, but cannot in good conscience let this go uncommented upon:

Union erred by not consulting Sidney Crosby before firing Paul Kelly

Without asking for Sidney Crosby’s opinion, the NHLPA fired executive director Paul Kelly this week. That was a mistake.

Read on if you dare.

SBJ with an interesting read as to the Union negotiations, some of the highlights (h/t Mirtle):

The problems with Kelly first surfaced as long as a year ago at a Chicago meeting of player representatives when then-NHLPA ombudsman Eric Lindros presented a report on issues that employees had with Kelly.

One of those issues came from the then-NHLPA director of human resources, Sara Zlabis, who was the union’s second-longest-serving employee. Lindros read a letter from Zlabis that was critical of Kelly’s review process for NHLPA employees. A few months later, she was fired.

Another occurred during the NHL all-star break when the NHL suspended all-star Detroit Red Wings NicklasLidstrom and PavelDatsyuk for a regular-season game because they failed to attend the all-star festivities. Kelly had agreed with Commissioner Gary Bettman the previous summer that players who skipped the All-Star Game could be subjected to suspension, player-side sources said. Other union employees and players felt that the Lidstrom and Datsyuk suspensions should have been contested and questioned the legitimacy of Kelly’s agreement.

The complaints brought to Hargrove also underscored a split among union employees regarding Kelly. Players addressed the divide in June during the NHLPA player meetings in Las Vegas. NHLPA player representatives decided to create a committee to investigate the dispute. Matt Stajan and Mike Komisarek of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brad Boyes of the St. Louis Blues and Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins volunteered to lead the investigation.

In July, the four players along with human resources consultant Anne Marie Turnbull interviewed 25 members of the NHLPA staff. The players compiled firsthand accounts from staff regarding Kelly’s leadership of the union.

"They weren’t favorable to him whatsoever, from his ability as a leader of the NHLPA to his ability to create a business plan and negotiate with Gary Bettman," said a source familiar with the players’ report.

If this is true, oy:

Donald Fehr’s days as head of Major League Baseball’s players’ association are winding down.

Fehr announced his retirement in June after 25 years of service to the MLBPA.

Fehr is considered one of the most powerful men in professional sports, so it should come as no surprise the National Hockey League players association has reached out to him.

Fehr wouldn’t comment on any discussions he’s had with the NHLPA, nor would he discuss the potential of any future role he may have with the PA when recently contacted by TSN.

However, sources say Fehr was conferenced in to a meeting in Chicago on Monday, following Paul Kelly’s firing as executive director.

Sources say the PA’s executive board, advisory board and interim executive director, Ian Penny wanted Fehr’s advice on how the group should proceed in the search for Kelly’s replacement.

Fehr didn’t rule out the possibility of offering his views on the NHLPA in the future, but said he wouldn’t do so until he has officially vacated his position with the MLBPA.