Kukla's Korner Hockey
Time For Mario Lemieux To Step In
by Paul on 10/26/12 at 09:41 AM ET
Comments (8)
from Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Revies,
Save the NHL season for us!
Ask me, and it’s actually well past time for the Penguins’ ownership to take an active role in this ridiculous NHL lockout, which likely will see the first slice of the 82-game season wiped away Friday. And by ownership, I don’t mean just Lemieux but also Ron Burkle.
No two individuals are more qualified to make an impact.
In Burkle’s case, though the co-owner keeps a low profile, he swings a huge hammer. He’s a billionaire who built his empire through growing a grocery chain in California. He’s a sharp businessman who used to get directly involved in talks with those unions, almost universally commanding respect at the blue-collar level. And in case anyone’s forgotten, he was the guy who went one-on-one in a room with former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell to put the finishing touch on the Consol deal.
Lemieux opened the door, and Burkle locked up the deal.
As Rendell told Trib Total Media last week: “In negotiating, you need somebody who can cut through the mess and focus on what will get a deal. Ron was excellent at that when we worked out the arena for the Penguins.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, NHLPA, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: mario+lemieux
Comments
Good call, Tony! And it bears mentioning that Burkle’s actual experience in negotiation is SORELY missing at the NHL. These clowns have gone three straight in work stoppages because they can’t figure out how to negotiate. If this crew is involved at the expiration of the next CBA, I predict another stoppage regardless of the state of the sport.
Posted by redxblack from Akron Ohio on 10/26/12 at 10:57 AM ET
Lemieux, Burkle, Crosby, Crosby’s grandma…whoever. I don’t care who fixes it—just get it fixed.
Posted by YzermanZetterberg on 10/26/12 at 11:08 AM ET
Lemieux is in a somewhat of a weird position. He is a former player. He is a current owner. He is a small market owner. He is a star players landlord.
In other words, he needs cost certainty, but has empathy for the players position as well. He needs the advantage a well written CBA could bring, but does not want to upset or even be seen as an anti-player owner.
It really is no wonder he has been silent throughout this ordeal. To me anyways.
Posted by gretzky_to_lemieux on 10/26/12 at 11:21 AM ET
Posted by gretzky_to_lemieux on 10/26/12 at 11:21 AM ET
Actually he is Not a Star Players Landlord Sid has built his own house in the same area
Posted by Evilpens on 10/26/12 at 12:56 PM ET
Posted by Evilpens on 10/26/12 at 12:56 PM ET
Well at least you understood what gtl was saying and didn’t find a relatively insignificant detail to harp on instead.
Posted by Garth on 10/26/12 at 01:22 PM ET
Lemiuex also helped save the franchise to ensure he got paid what his contract was worth and wound up owning a share. Funny that we are full circle back to asking owners to fulfill the contracts they negotiated. In Mario’s case, he had to take on the owner’s risk as well.
Posted by hockey1919 from mid-atlantic on 10/26/12 at 04:35 PM ET
WOW… it’s taken this long for someone in Pittsburgh to think of how important it would be if Mario got involved.
From my blog post on Oct. 4th:
“Considering he is a former player, I am both surprised and dissapointed in the deafening silence coming from one Mario Lemieux. I don’t know how large or small a piece of the Penguins he actually owns but, considering he’s been on both sides of the negotiating fence, you’d think he would be more actively involved ... more visible ... more hands on ... maybe even try to be the voice of reason at the negotiating table. If anybody could explain the owners situation to the players, it would be him. I don’t understand the silence.”
Read the entire post here: http://howeitsdone.blogspot.com/
Posted by Hockeytown Wax from West Bloomfield, Mi. on 10/26/12 at 04:51 PM ET
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Before the Lemieux haters jump in, read Dejan’s article: Lemieux’ involvement is merely to get Ron Burkle involved….
Posted by Tony from Virginia Beach, VA on 10/26/12 at 10:11 AM ET