from Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press,

The Winnipeg Jets and the National Hockey League are denying a report out of Boston that suggests Bruins’ owner Jeremy Jacobs reprimanded a Jets’ representative at a recent NHL Board of Governors meeting....

The story said Jacobs ‘answered by reprimanding the Winnipeg representative as one of the "new kids on the block" and informed him that he would know when he was allowed to speak in the NHL board room.’

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, in an e-mail to The Free Press, said the story was a "100% complete and total fabrication."

Chipman issued the following statement Wednesday night:

"I was disappointed to learn today of a report which claimed an exchange took place between an Alternate Governor of the Winnipeg Jets and Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins at a recent NHL Board of Governors meeting. I was present throughout all BOG proceedings and can categorically state that no such exchange between Mr. Jacobs and either one of our Alternate Governors - Patrick Phillips or Kevin Cheveldayoff - ever took place. Any suggestion otherwise is completely false."

a bit more...

added 8:12pm,

from Ted Wyan of the Winnipeg Sun,

Like we said, maybe it didn’t happen, but the NHL’s urgency to nip it in the bud is certainly curious.

You get the feeling the Jets are having their strings pulled on this one, just as they have been told in not so many words to stay in the background of lockout talks.

Those who follow the situation closely know the NHL governors are ruled by commissioner Gary Bettman and a couple of heavyweights, most notably Jacobs, and they are the ones who are pushing the lockout agenda.

The moderate voices and even the moderately dissenting ones might as well be lepers.

Heaven forbid anyone express a concern that this asinine lockout might be affecting some franchises adversely.

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