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Entries with the tag: nhlpa
NHL Players “Going Green”
by Alanah McGinley on 03/26/09 at 06:24 PM ET
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From the NHLPA:
NHL players are “going green” in a big way, due in part to the success of the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge program. Players are taking more action in their own lives to reduce their environmental footprint. With over 420 NHLPA members signing up for the second year of the program, the players continue to show leadership on the environment.
“I’m very proud that we’ve offset more than 4,200 tonnes of carbon emissions this season, which is like taking 840 cars off the road for a year,” said Andrew Ference, the Boston Bruins’ defenseman who initiated the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge. “But best of all, I’m hearing of more and more players in the dressing rooms talking about ‘going green’.”
Filed in: Hockey Related Stories, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: andrew+ference,
environmentalism,
nhlpa
The Lindros Letter
by Alanah McGinley on 02/09/09 at 03:21 PM ET
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From Liz Mullen at Sports Business Journal:
Eric Lindros, in his letter resigning from his position as NHL Players’ Association ombudsman last week, revealed a rift within the union staff and a deep problem between himself and Executive Director Paul Kelly, and raised questions over whether staff members conspired to undermine him and the ombudsman’s office itself, both internally and publicly.
“The efforts of a few have made it impossible for me to effectively carry out the duties of ombudsman,” Lindros said in the three-page letter to the 30 player representatives who make up the NHLPA executive board, the governing body of the union. SportsBusiness Journal obtained a copy of the letter.
read on for a summary of the letter, outlining Lindros’s concerns with the ombudsman position at the NHLPA
Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: eric+lindros,
nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Ending the ASG
by Alanah McGinley on 01/22/09 at 05:46 PM ET
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From Damien Cox in The Spin:
If the NHL Players Association has its way, we may soon see the end of the NHL All-Star Game as an annual event.
The union, you see, has a grander plan, one in which an annual break in the NHL season would take place every February, and depending on the year it would be filled by the Olympics, a World Cup, an all-star game or perhaps a spectacular hockey convention.
“It would be a win for everybody,” said former NHL goaltender and broadcaster Glenn Healy, now the NHLPA’s director of player affairs. “We’ve got to sell the game.”
*hat-tip to SI’s Fan Nation
Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: all+star+game,
asg,
nhlpa,
world+cup
NHL Players Escrow Hold-Back May Increase
by Alanah McGinley on 12/16/08 at 05:11 PM ET
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From Mark Spector at Sportsnet.ca:
NHL players have been warned by their association that its escrow hold-back could be increased in the new year.
Currently, the NHL holds back 13.5 per cent of players’ paychecks. That money is available to the league at the end of the year in case NHL revenue projections are not met. The procedure was included as part of the most recent collective agreement so that players take home only their negotiated 56 per cent share of NHL revenues. Players have received back all of their escrow monies the past three seasons.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: escrow,
nhlpa
Will the CBA be Terminated Next Year?
by Alanah McGinley on 11/03/08 at 01:47 PM ET
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From Michael Russo at the Star Tribune,
The six-year CBA, which runs until Sept. 15, 2011, gives the NHLPA the right to reopen the agreement and begin negotiations on a new one by May 15.
“I’m pretty careful not to give my opinion publicly out of respect for the players,” said NHLPA Executive Director Paul Kelly, who met with the Wild players last Tuesday in Dallas. “This is a very serious issue that we’re discussing on the fall tour.”
Every player in the NHL will receive, or has already filled out, a confidential questionnaire that will be put into a sealed envelope until all 30 teams have been surveyed. They’re being asked a yes-or-no question: “Should we terminate the CBA at the end of the current season?”
Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: cba,
collective+bargaining+agreement,
nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Paul Kelly’s First Year
by Alanah McGinley on 10/24/08 at 07:09 PM ET
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From Pierre LeBrun at ESPN,
It’s time to stop calling Paul Kelly the “new” leader of the players’ union. On Friday, he celebrated his one-year anniversary on the job as executive director of the NHL Players’ Association.
“Today is the big day,” Kelly told ESPN.com in an interview Friday.
Much has changed in his 365 days in office. The players’ union was a divided group when Kelly came on board, still reeling from its controversial decision to accept the sport’s first salary cap in order to end the NHL lockout three years ago.
continued… with a look back and looking ahead
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly
NHLPA Taking NHL to Court Regarding Pension Plan
by Alanah McGinley on 09/11/08 at 10:29 PM ET
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From TSN:
The NHL Players’ Association hopes to see a pension dispute with the league solved in court.
The NHLPA announced Thursday that it had filed an application in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice regarding an interpretation of the league’s pension plan.
The issue relates to the calculation of the death benefit for players with NHL service prior to July 1, 1986. The NHLPA believes widows and other beneficiaries of players who passed away before taking their pension were paid less than is required by law.
The NHL disagrees.
Filed in: NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
pension+plan
Glenn Healy Leaving TV for the NHLPA
by Alanah McGinley on 06/17/08 at 11:44 AM ET
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From William Houston at the Globe & Mail,
Hockey analyst Glenn Healy is leaving TSN for a high ranking post with the National Hockey League Players’ Association, sources have confirmed.
Healy, who was active with the association as a player, is expected to be involved in a player liaison capacity.
The former NHL goalie has built a successful career in television, first with the CBC from 2001 to 2004 and, for the past four seasons, with TSN.
Update 2:36pm ET: TSN,
Glenn Healy has been named the new Director of Player Affairs for the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
Healy will fulfill a wide range of responsibilities for the Players’ Association. In his role, he will focus on player relations, coordinating his efforts with the NHLPA’s Ombudsman and Divisional Representatives, along with working closely with the NHL Alumni office.
Filed in: NHL Media, NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: cbc,
glenn+healy,
media,
nhlpa,
tsn
Kelly Sees NHL Opportunities in Canada
by Alanah McGinley on 06/01/08 at 01:54 PM ET
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From Bruce Dowbiggin at the Calgary Herald,
Paul Kelly, the Boston lawyer who’s now the executive director of the NHL Players Association, believes Canada should have at least one—and perhaps more—NHL franchises if the league relocates a team or expands.
“I think it would be a huge error not to relocate one of the existing franchises to Hamilton or Winnipeg,” Kelly told the Toronto Star when asked about where failing U.S. franchises might move.
Kelly then pointed out that it’s folly for the league to blackball RIM billionaire Jim Balsillie, who wants to bring another team to southern Ontario.
“He built his company from nothing into an $80-billion company. We would be foolhardy not to see his efforts happen.”
(Kelly subsequently told the Herald by e-mail that this is an issue he will be pursuing, and that getting teams to Canadian markets where they can be more profitable is in the NHLPA’s interest.)
Filed in: NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Wings Adjust And Still Win
by Paul on 05/24/08 at 08:55 AM ET
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from Dave Naylor of the Globe and Mail,
So when the NHL and the National Hockey League Players’ Association drastically reformed their collective labour agreement in the summer of 2005, taking away the economic advantage clubs such as Detroit had enjoyed, it was fair to ponder what might become of the great Red Wings dynasty.
Well, with nearly three full seasons of postlockout hockey in the books, the answer to that question is clear. As they get set to open the Stanley Cup final at home tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Red Wings are trying to put the finishing touches not just on a stellar season, but also on the most successful start for any team in the NHL’s three-year-old postlockout era.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: cba,
nhlpa
NHL Player Agents Meet Paul Kelly
by Alanah McGinley on 03/26/08 at 09:47 PM ET
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From the Canadian Press via TSN,
Some of the NHL’s most powerful agents got their first real glimpse of the new executive director of the NHL Players’ Association on Wednesday, and they liked what they saw.
Paul Kelly met with more than 100 player agents for the first time since he started on the job five months ago.
“You get a sense that he’s passionate and he’s got a vision,” said agent Pat Brisson of CAA Sports. “He wants to protect the players obviously but he wants to grow the game - which is fantastic.’
Filed in: NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: agents,
nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Paul Kelly on the NHL Hour
by Alanah McGinley on 01/24/08 at 05:12 PM ET
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The NHLPA’s Paul Kelly will be Gary Bettman’s guest on the NHL Hour today.
The NHL Hour broadcasts live Thursdays from 4-5 pm ET on NHL Home Ice, (XM channel 204) and NHL.com. The show will re-run on XM Satellite Radio and NHL.com, with archived shows available for download via a podcast on NHL.com.
*At showtime, listen live at this link. While on the air, listeners can call into the show at 1-877-645-6696, or send questions/comments via this email address: nhlhour@nhl.com.
Filed in: NHL Media, NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: gary+bettman,
media,
nhl+hour,
nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Paul Kelly is an Optimist
by Alanah McGinley on 01/12/08 at 12:11 AM ET
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From Mark Spector at the National Post,
“I think someone can effectively represent the players of the NHL, and at the same time do it in a manner that is constructive, co-operative with the NHL, with the owners, and good for the game as a whole,” Kelly said in a one-on-one interview this week. “We should be able to solve complex problems without firing at each other; without not being able to be in the same room with each other; without the bitterness and emotion that existed the last time.
“Maybe I’m being naive,” he added. “But I will tell you, having spent a lot of years dealing with difficult legal issues - civil and criminal - and negotiating difficult legal problems with some of the finest lawyers in the world, I know it is possible to do this.”
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Players Think Green
by Paul on 12/07/07 at 12:09 AM ET
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from Matthew Sekeres of the Globe and Mail,
A professional hockey player and environmentalist David Suzuki make for strange breakfast companions, but their unlikely encounter in Calgary last year is greening dressing rooms throughout the NHL.
Since their meeting last fall, Andrew Ference, a Boston Bruins defenceman, has become the point man for the National Hockey League Players’ Association on environmental issues. His goal is to slow climate change by changing the mindset of his fellow players.
Friday, Ference and Suzuki will unite for a news conference in Toronto to unveil a partnership between the NHLPA and the David Suzuki Foundation. The two are teaming up to help offset the greenhouse gas emissions produced by NHL players whose jobs require them to travel by planes, trains, buses and cars.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: andrew+ference,
boston+bruins,
david+suzuki,
environmentalism,
nhlpa
NHLPA Changing its Tune
by Alanah McGinley on 12/06/07 at 05:17 PM ET
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From Jim Kelley at Sports Illustrated,
What comes as a shock to long-time observers, however, is that now the NHL Players’ Association wants to get involved, and not necessarily to fight off the suspensions that were handed down by Colin Campbell, the NHL’s Director of Hockey Operations, as well as the perceived threat of additional suspensions that were hinted at by Commissioner Gary Bettman and his deputy, Bill Daly.
Paul Kelly, who barely has found a chair that fits him as the NHLPA’s new executive director said recently that he’s “concerned” about the number of suspensions the Flyers have been given since the start of the season and that not only should the league take a tougher stance, but that his organization should “have a voice in the process.”
Given that he’s not dead, it would be wrong to say that former NHLPA boss Bob Goodenow is spinning in his grave over that one, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Kelly’s statement made his head turn. Criticism of Goodenow within and outside the PA often centered on how he handled on-ice or player-on-player violence. The perception (Goodenow argued it was unfair) was that the PA was quick to come to the defense of any perpetrator, but did next to nothing to protect the health, safety and long-term welfare of the player who was unduly or unfairly assaulted.
Filed in: NHL Talk, Cheap Hits, NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: bill+daly,
nhlpa,
paul+kelly,
suspensions
All Paul Kelly & Eric Lindros
by Paul on 12/03/07 at 11:16 PM ET
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from In the Room at the Washington Times,
Kelly and Lindros talked about all sorts of issues with the game, and since the story was more of a feature on the two of them trying to help the NHLPA regroup, there was not room for their views on a lot of important topics. So here is some what we talked about. It is a lot to digest, but there is some pretty good stuff in here.
ON THE CURRENT STATE OF THE GAME
KELLY: We like the game played at a high rate of speed. We like to see good, close games whether they are 2-1, 3-2 or 8-7. I don’t know that the volume of goals is really the issue. We want to see good, clean, competitive, fast play.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: eric+lindros,
nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Early Line Of The Day
by Paul on 11/30/07 at 10:25 AM ET
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“I told them expressly, it is my view that any labour interruption in this sport would be devastating,” Kelly said, “and that the public, particularly in the United States, would turn away in disgust. And that we owe it to the game and to the fans to work through issues and to avoid any discussions of lockouts and strikes. I sensed a positive agreement from the owners to that comment.”
No kidding!!!
read more from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail, including the league may look at an 84 game season. The players will approve it as long as the exhibition season is shortened.
added 7:50am, from Terry Frei at All Things Avs,
...but when word arrived tonight of the NHL Board of Governors’ decision on a scheduling format for next season, I thought it was a joke. The much-reviled format is only being tweaked in what is essentially a return to the pre-lockout format, not overhauled. What the league needed to do first and foremost — send every team to every arena every season — is not part of the plan. The league is telling the fans they are No. 1 — but with the wrong finger.
Everything else being equal, this is going to cost the Avalanche and other Western Conference franchises even more season ticket accounts.
Filed in: NHL Talk, NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhl+board+of+governors,
nhl+schedule,
nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Paul Kelly Faces Challenges
by Paul on 11/30/07 at 09:57 AM ET
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from Kevin Allen of USA TODAY,
Now a month on the job, the former Boston trial lawyer and assistant U.S. attorney has formed a general impression on how his command will work.
“There are business issues, maybe on television, marketing or promotional issues where I might lay alternatives and make recommendations, and hope they have significant faith and trust in my judgment to support me,” Kelly said. “But on game issues, players are in a far better position than I am. It’s incumbent upon me to get a sense of the majority.”
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Grimson Gone From NHLPA
by Paul on 11/27/07 at 12:38 AM ET
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via TSN,
The NHL Players’ Association and Stu Grimson, a former player who was legal counsel with the NHLPA, have parted ways.
It is not clear whether Grimson was fired or resigned, but he is no longer working with the Association.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
stu+grimson
Instigator- Yay Or Nay
by Paul on 11/23/07 at 10:41 AM ET
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from Darren Dreger of TSN,
NHL Players Association Executive Director Paul Kelly and his entourage have visited with seven of the league’s 30 teams on their fall tour.
Issues discussed include bigger nets, smaller goalie equipment and mandatory visors, to name a few. But the one topic that interests players most right now is removal of the instigator penalty.
Filed in: NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly,
penalties
New Postion For Lindros With The NHLPA
by Paul on 11/11/07 at 11:28 PM ET
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from the NHLPA,
The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) Executive Board today announced the appointment of Eric Lindros to the newly created Ombudsman position and the promotion of Associate Counsel Ian Penny to the role of General Counsel.
As Ombudsman, a new position created under the recently ratified NHLPA Constitution, Lindros will serve as a non-voting member of the Executive Board and will supervise and coordinate the activities of the Divisional Player Representative program.Lindros will also receive and resolve any complaints by members and/or staff of the Association.He will report directly to the Executive Board.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: eric+lindros,
nhlpa,
ombudsman
Paul Kelly Would Like “Widespread” TV Coverage Of The NHL
by Paul on 11/05/07 at 07:59 PM ET
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from Stan Fischler at MSG Network, (Paul) Kelly wants to canvass his constituency to get an overall feel for the membership’s thinking. One thing he emphasized to us is his desire to see more widespread TV coverage in the U.S.
He didn’t mention ESPN by name, but rather by implication that a renewed marriage between the biggest sports network and Bettman, Inc. would be highly desirable. It’s tough to argue that point!
more from The Maven…
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting, NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly
NHLPA Ratifies a New Constitution Today
by Alanah McGinley on 10/30/07 at 09:17 PM ET
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From the NHLPA,
The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) today announced that the members of the NHLPA have ratified a new constitution by way of secret ballot. The announcement marks the end of a thorough review process that began in March of 2006….
Among the significant changes,the new constitution eliminates the Executive Committee, which was comprised of the President and Vice-President positions, leaving the 30 Club Player Representatives to serve as equal voting members of the Executive Board. Also, the positions of Executive Director and General Counsel, which have traditionally been held by the same person, will now be divided between two individuals.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa
Paul Kelly Not “Progressive”
by Alanah McGinley on 10/29/07 at 01:54 PM ET
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From Damien Cox’s The Spin,
The early guess is that Paul Kelly is about honesty, not about change. Indeed, the new NHL Players Association boss probably just needs not to open other people’s emails and he’ll do fine.
A progressive thinker, however, he apparently is not.
In fact, with respect to the game itself, it turns out Kelly is a bit of closet Neanderthal, something he revealed Saturday night in an intriguing interview with Ron MacLean on Hockey Night in Canada.
Kelly said that not only does he believe fighting is part of hockey, he strongly believes in the necessity of enforcers to “self-police” the game.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Linden vs Chelios
by Alanah McGinley on 10/29/07 at 02:47 AM ET
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From Iain Macintyre at the Vancouver Sun,
Eleven years ago, when the Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in overtime, Trevor Linden got into Chris Chelios’s face after the winning goal and the pair tussled.
Chelios threw the first punch and, after the players were separated, accused Linden of covering up and refusing to fight. And that was the high point of their relationship. It has devolved the last two years as Chelios leads his crusade for justice within a National Hockey League Players’ Association that Linden, as the union’s former president, led through a labour war that scuttled the 2004-05 season.
Sunday, Linden seemed ready for the fight.
“It’s easy to pile on,” Linden said before facing Chelios and the Detroit Red Wings Sunday night at GM Place. “I will say this: I’m extremely proud of the decisions the [NHLPA] executive committee made. I think we made, in very difficult times, good decisions for the players.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks, NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: chris+chelios,
detroit+red+wings,
nhlpa,
trevor+linden,
vancouver+canucks
History Repeats According To Chelios
by Paul on 10/24/07 at 11:07 PM ET
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from the Detroit Free Press,
“I’m very happy with our choice of Paul Kelly. I’m looking forward to working with him and having him represent us as a union. At least we have a leader now, and we’ll look for direction from him.”
Chelios said Kelly’s arrival was reminiscent of Goodenow taking over in 1992 for the disgraced Alan Eagleson.
“I look back,” Chelios said, “and it was the same thing when we hired Bob Goodenow — we’d gone through a lot in the Eagleson era, and then Bob was hired — pretty much same situation, basically. It’s history repeating itself. Look at what he did for us. Hopefully, Paul Kelly can follow that same path that we did with Bob.”
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: chris+chelios,
detroit+red+wings,
nhlpa
Lindros Makes No Mention Of Returning To The Game
by Paul on 10/24/07 at 08:59 PM ET
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from Pierre LeBrun of the CP via the Globe and Mail,
Lindros said Wednesday he would welcome a chance to work for the union in whatever role. “I would look forward to something along those lines. This has been really interesting. I’ve learned a lot about the other side of things.”
more on the work Lindros has done with the NHLPA…
Update 11:15pm ET (by Alanah):
From Darren Dreger at TSN,
He hasn’t made it official yet, but Eric Lindros is calling it quits and – if all things work out for him, he’s headed toward a new career with the NHLPA.
Following Paul Kelly’s introduction as Executive Director of the Player’s Association, Eric Lindros stated bluntly his playing career is behind him - with too many health issues to entertain the notion of a return.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: eric+lindros,
nhlpa
Paul Kelly Officially Named NHLPA Executive Director
by Alanah McGinley on 10/24/07 at 02:27 PM ET
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From the NHLPA,
The search process, conducted by a five-member committee of NHLPA members and the executive search firm Reilly Partners of Chicago, culminated with the introduction of Kelly at today’s media conference in Toronto.
“It is a distinct honour and privilege to be chosen by the players to serve as the Executive Director of their union,” said Kelly “I look forward to advocating tirelessly for the membership as we prepare to enter what I believe will be an exciting and prosperous new chapter for the NHLPA.
added 1:01pm, from Allan Maki of the Globe and Mail,
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly
What Paul Kelly Must Do
by Paul on 10/24/07 at 11:26 AM ET
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from Jim Kelley at Sportsnet,
Kelly’s to-do list must begin with making certain the players get what they are entitled to under the current CBA. He also needs to restructure the business end of NHLPA and its licensing arm (something that has fallen into the leadership abyss) and he needs to tell Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bil Daly where to stuff it when they try something wrong-headed, non-sensical or illegal.
On top, he needs to find a way to keep some 700 members interested enough in the process so that the league no longer views then as little more than mobile skate racks (mostly of the unheated variety). Do that and the union will be on track to handle the next negotiation with the kind of unity the management might respect.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly
NHL, NHLPA and NFL Sponsoring Concussion Study
by Alanah McGinley on 10/21/07 at 02:59 PM ET
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From Medical News Today,
The National Football League, National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Player’s Association have agreed to sponsor an educational program on sports concussions developed by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology. Consisting of a series of educational DVDs, this program is targeted to amateur and professional players, parents, physicians and coaches, and will provide information on how to recognize concussive injuries, seek proper evaluation, and follow appropriate return to play guidelines.
continued…
*Related: the National Athletic Trainer’s Association has a list of 10 Tips to reduce the severity of sports-related concussions, plus a study titled “How Many Concussions is too Many?” [PDF]
Filed in: Hockey Related Stories, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: injuries,
nhlpa
Be Your Own Man
by Paul on 10/21/07 at 10:11 AM ET
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from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,
Even before the players had finished voting on the nomination of Paul Kelly to become the NHLPA’s new executive director, the presumptive leader of the union was being warned last week by members of the Canadian media to seek compromise in his dealings with the league, not to be confrontational, and last but not least, not to become a clone of Bob Goodenow, for goodness sakes.
Right, that’s all the players need, someone like Goodenow to look after their interests rather than his own, the way Alan Eagleson did and Ted Saskin appears in many cases to have done, though in no way approaching the felonious maneuverings of the man Kelly helped prosecute as assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa
Coming Soon To A Website Near You
by Paul on 10/19/07 at 11:12 AM ET
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from Loose Change at the Hockey News,
Basically, enough is enough. There’s a critical mass in most everything in life and the innate ability to recognize when you’ve indeed reached that point is as important as knowing the precise time to let go of a hand grenade.
NHLPA IV is set to open soon and frankly, I think the franchise is already dead….
You probably remember the original NHLPA I: The Evil Empire versus The Embezzler. In that classic (filming started in 1967), the National Hockey League battled the original version of the PA in a timeless David versus Goliath tale.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa
NHLPA Will Dig Deep
by Paul on 10/18/07 at 11:54 AM ET
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from Adam Proteau of the Hockey News,
Regardless of whether Meehan is a target for decertification, it is clear some player agents believe the union – and rumored new executive director Paul Kelly – must go beyond a report from investigator Sheila Block and further delve into the circumstances that led to Saskin replacing predecessor Bob Goodenow as NHLPA chief.
Minnesota-based agent Neil Sheehy is one of those people.
“The Block Report established that there were a lot of documents that were shredded, and hard drives that were destroyed,” Sheehy told TheHockeyNews.com. “So the question is, how do we get all the information out?
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa
Kelly Will Be The Voice Of the Players
by Paul on 10/17/07 at 04:34 PM ET
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from Jim Kelley at Sportsnet,
Thanks to Chelios and the members of the search committee, the NHLPA is working toward remaking itself into a voice that must be heard regarding the best interests of the players and, perhaps even the best interest of the game.
If Kelly does become the new boss of the NHLPA, it’s clear that he won’t be just like the old boss (Saskin) or even the boss before him (Goodenow) and certainly nothing like the boss before either of those men (Eagleson).
He will be the boss because the players, through due process, will have determined that he is.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa
Paul Kelly’s Plan
by Paul on 10/17/07 at 11:09 AM ET
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from Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province,
Speaking Tuesday from Boston, where he is in the process of trying to inform his clients of his impending move to take this job if hired, Kelly indicated that if people are thinking the NHLPA is in the process of “hiring a junkyard dog who wants to open everything up with the NHL just for the sake of creating confrontation, they are sadly mistaken.”
At the same time, the days of the patsy Saskin are over.
...“I was flattered when the [headhunting] firm first called me to see if I’d be interested and the more and more I’ve learned, the more and more I want to do this. I would say my interest in this has mushroomed over the past couple of weeks.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa
A $10 Million NHLPA Secret Ballot
by Alanah McGinley on 10/17/07 at 07:20 AM ET
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From Rick Westhead at the Toronto Star,
The NHL Players’ Association has offered prospective chief Paul Kelly a five-year, $10 million contract, according to secret ballots that were sent out by the union late yesterday.
The ballots were sent by the union to the NHL’s 30 team player representatives, who will consult with teammates over the next week or so. The ballots included a term sheet that outlined Kelly’s compensation package.
The last time the NHLPA held a secret ballot vote it was over former executive director Ted Saskin’s future. Those ballots were returned to the union.
This time around, the ballots will be returned to a Toronto law firm. Kelly needs the endorsement of 16 of the 30 player reps to be hired.
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Tags: nhlpa
Uglier By The Day
by Paul on 10/16/07 at 11:30 PM ET
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from Allan Maki of the Globe and Mail,
There has long been speculation that a group of players, the majority of whom are Meehan clients, sidestepped Goodenow’s no-cap position in an attempt to end the lockout.
If that happened, it’s possible a decertification case could be built against Meehan. A player agent has to be certified by the NHLPA before he or she can represent NHL players.
Meehan could not be reached for comment, but has gone on record expressing his contempt for anyone who would question his character and business reputation.
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Tags: nhlpa
Dear Mr. Kelly
by Paul on 10/16/07 at 11:21 AM ET
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from Mark Spector of the National Post,
...Because most hockey players come from communities where, if someone’s dad made $150,000, that family was considered wealthy.
Remember that, Mr. Kelly, if the time ever comes where you advise 700 players to start missing pay cheques that are in the neighbourhood of US$1.5-million per season.
But that’s enough advice from a sports writer, Mr. Kelly. If you take the job as leader of NHLPA, you’ll have no shortage of that.
Listen less to those voices and more to hockey fans. Canadian ones in particular, who deserve an economic system like the one in place today, where Calgary and Edmonton can compete on a level playing field with Toronto.
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Tags: nhlpa
Start The War Chant
by Paul on 10/16/07 at 01:26 AM ET
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from The Maven at MSG Network,
...Already, we’ve heard from one prominent agent who makes it clear that he’ll be surprised if the majority of players allow Kelly to lead them into another no-win war. “There’s too much to lose,” the agent insists. The problem is this: will the small, but dominating, Chelios clique take another one of their macho, war-like stances?
more NHL bits from Stan…
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Tags: nhlpa
Paul Kelly Closer To Being Named NHLPA Executive Director
by Paul on 10/15/07 at 11:04 PM ET
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from the NHLPA,
TORONTO (October 15, 2007): The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) Executive Board, which consists of the 30 Player Representatives, held a conference call on Monday evening during which Paul Kelly was nominated for the position of NHLPA Executive Director. The Executive Board will immediately conduct a secret ballot vote.
The NHLPA’s constitution requires that the Executive Director be elected by a majority of the members of the Executive Board. This process will be completed by October 23, 2007.
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Tags: nhlpa
Groundhog Day
by George Malik on 10/14/07 at 02:45 PM ET
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For those of us who’ve been laughed at as “conspiracy theorists” and league-critical cynics of a Larry Brooks-like pedigree, Saturday was our Groundhog Day.
As in, we got to peek out of our little bunkers, point at our long shadows, and say, “We told you so.”
We told you that the lockout was about franchise equity, and the concept that a franchise’s bank value would increase exponentially when viewed as an entity with “cost certainty”—theoretically capped costs in terms of salary expenditures, directly tied to league-wide revenues, which effectively renders whether an individual team makes or loses money at the gate, in terms of ticket sales-vs.-expenditures, irrelevant.
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Tags: nhlpa
NHLPA To Become Strong Again
by Paul on 10/14/07 at 09:44 AM ET
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from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,
Gary Bettman, who spent the lockout trying to break the NHLPA (and would have succeeded if not for the efforts of people such as Chris Chelios, Trent Klatt, Steve Larmer and Eric Lindros), recently went on the record insisting he believes in and welcomes a strong union across from him at the table.
Well, the commissioner is going to get what he wished for, because once Paul Kelly, the former assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, becomes NHLPA executive director, that’s exactly what the union will again become.
Filed in: NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa,
paul+kelly
Three Finalists Named For NHLPA Exec. Director
by Paul on 10/13/07 at 05:36 PM ET
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from Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star,
The NHL Players Association has narrowed its search for a new executive director down to three finalists: former U.S. attorney Paul Kelly, NFL Players Association lawyer Richard Berthelsen, and Bill Gregson, president and chief executive of sports store chain Forzani Group.
It’s expected that the union will hold a conference call on Monday. During the call, a five-player search committee will recommend the union hire Kelly, who, as a prosecutor, spearheaded the investigation of union founder Alan Eagleson.
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Tags: nhlpa
Will NHLPA Distance Itself From The League
by Paul on 10/13/07 at 08:34 AM ET
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from Rick Wethead of the Toronto Star
During Saskin’s tenure at the union, emails reveal that NHL chief legal officer and deputy commissioner Bill Daly passed on to Saskin several suggestions about which players and union staff might be conspiring against him. Other emails reveal Saskin had become especially close to Daly and Gary Bettman after his hiring.
In advance of a meeting in Russia in autumn 2006, Saskin emailed the NHL commissioner: “Looks like Bill is getting the Moscow trip in September; I may send Chelios.”
In a response the same day Bettman deadpanned: “With a one-way ticket (cc not bd)?”
read on... getting ugly again folks…
Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey, NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: bill+daly,
nhlpa,
ted+saskin
Search For NHLPA Leader Down To Three
by Paul on 10/12/07 at 02:58 PM ET
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from Allan Maki of the Globe and Mail,
After considering and interviewing more than a dozen candidates, the NHLPA’s five-man search committee has whittled its list down to three finalists.
While the identity of the three remains a well-kept secret, there is speculation former U.S. prosecutor Paul Kelly is a prime candidate. He was an important participant in bringing former NHLPA executive director Alan Eagleson to trial for fraud and embezzlement.
Neither of the other two candidates are hockey agents (as Eagleson and his successor Bob Goodenow were) while one is a Canadian.
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Tags: nhlpa
I Don’t Even Want To Type The Word
by Paul on 10/08/07 at 11:24 PM ET
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from The Maven of MSG Network,
This news might get stuck in your craw but it has to be reported nonetheless. Another NHL Work Stoppage could very well happen when it’s time for the NHLPA to renew the current CBA.The angst centers on two critical areas:
1. Choice of the next union boss;
2. Whether the small but vocal Chris Chelios-led militant unionists control the show.
read on and more NHL talk from Stan…
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Tags: cba,
nhlpa
Hockey Fights Cancer
by Alanah McGinley on 10/02/07 at 04:26 PM ET
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From NHL.com
The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association, together with Getty Images and Greystone Books have published Reflections on a Hockey Season: The 2007 NHL Year in Photographs. [...] The first of an annual visual celebration, the book chronicles the highlights and candid, behind-the-scenes images from the 2006-2007 NHL season.
Photos and more descriptive info below:
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Tags: hockey+fights+cancer,
nhlpa
The Right NHLPA Leader Is Critical
by Paul on 09/23/07 at 11:25 AM ET
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from Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province,
As the Vancouver Canuck players prepare for the oncoming season, one of the last things on their mind is union politics, and rightfully so.
But over the next few months they’d better start to get serious because they’ll be voting on a new leader or leaders and that decision is going to be absolutely critical to their long-term interests.
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Tags: nhlpa,
vancouver+canucks
NHLPA Recorded Phone Calls
by Paul on 09/17/07 at 12:44 PM ET
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from Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (paid sub.),
Former NHL Players’ Association executive directors Bob Goodenow and Ted Saskin routinely tape-recorded players, agents, NHL officials such as NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and officials of other sports unions, including NFL Players Association Executive Director Gene Upshaw, without their permission or knowledge, according to a report issued to NHLPA members last month….
The report also details a taped conversation between Daly and Saskin in October 2004, which Daly said was recorded without his knowledge. Last week, Daly wrote in an e-mail , “I’m not prepared to comment on the ‘ethics’ of the practice. But apparently, it was a practice that Bob (Goodenow) endorsed and may even have been insisted on.”
Daly blasted the report, saying, “To the extent anyone reads the Block report and treats its conclusions as ‘gospel’ — i.e., that they are factual — they are making a big mistake,” Daly wrote in an e-mail.
Thanks go out to Sports Business Journal for allowing KK members and guests to read the full article...
Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey, NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: nhlpa
