UPDATE: 'challenged' NHLPA boss Kelly fired, per TSN; the search for a successor continues

wprager wrote:Look who's fluffing now.

Good call!

wprager wrote:Look who's fluffing now.

Feeling insecure, MR Montafluff?

More information coming to light about the NHLPA's struggles...

http://www.thestar.ca/sports/hockey/article/693438

Andrew Ference is emerging as being the one that was pushing hard for the late night vote on Kelly's dismissal.

Not sure if this was posted:

So who was key player behind the Kelly coup?

At the top of the union's unwieldy, multi-headed new power structure sits the 30-player executive council, of which the executive director - Kelly until last week - acts as chairman. But Ference was identified by multiple sources as the loudest voice in the room in Chicago, the player who pushed hardest for a vote on Kelly's dismissal in the early hours of the morning against the wishes of veteran players like Chris Chelios. By a 22-5 vote, Kelly was terminated.

I'm confused. I know I was the one questioning Chelios' involvement, but then I read some sources which suggested Chelios was, indeed, involved. This one, however, is the second time I've seen it mentioned that Chelios supported Kelly (after all, the was part of the committee that hired him in the first place).

I think Chelios was against the way it all went down. Andrew Ference seems to be the player that was pushing the most for all this and was pushing for the late night vote. Some veteran players didn't want it to happen like that but I guess they were the minority.

Brad Park (NHL hall of famer) has chimed in on Andrew Ference's public comments on the Paul Kelly firing...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=292378

Some hilarious stuff... most notably this:

''Let me tell Andrew Ference, one defenceman to another, he should spend more time worrying about going back to get the puck than to worry about Paul Kelly's ability to do the job as head of the PA,'' Park told the Globe. ''When [Ference] was in junior, I assume he wasn't going to college...so I ask, what makes him so [expletive] smart?! They had a guy like Chris Chelios in that room [in Chicago] who disagreed, told them to wait and think.

Priceless.

Some serious conflict of interest is coming out with regards to the steps leading up to Kelly's dismissal...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=293266

Seems the PA hired Roy McMurty to provide an opinion on whether Kelly should be fired or not. Little did they know, Roy had a past relationship with Alan Eagleson whom Kelly successfully prosecuted and forced out and sent to jail.

Hmmm... do you think he'd give a glowing review of Kelly? Nope, me neither.

shabbs wrote:Brad Park (rummy) has chimed in on Andrew Ference's public comments on the Paul Kelly firing...

Fixed.

shabbs wrote:Some serious conflict of interest is coming out with regards to the steps leading up to Kelly's dismissal...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=293266

Seems the PA hired Roy McMurty to provide an opinion on whether Kelly should be fired or not. Little did they know, Roy had a past relationship with Alan Eagleson whom Kelly successfully prosecuted and forced out and sent to jail.

Hmmm... do you think he'd give a glowing review of Kelly? Nope, me neither.

Wrongful dismissal case filed in 10, 9, 8, ...

Buzz has resigned as Interim Ombudsman.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=297735

The stupidity continues...

Actually, this is a good thing.

TheAvatar wrote:Actually, this is a good thing.

Do you think Buzz was at the heart of all this turmoil that started with the Kelly firing?

Well, I think that Buzz' presence in the NHLPA was a bad (edit VERY bad) thing to start with. Whether he played a key role in the Kelly firing I don't know but only bad things can happen to the PA, NHL and hockey fans if such a hardcore no compromise guy is too close ...

It's got bad will, bad influence and poor judgment written all over it.

I'm glad he's gone too, I think if he had stuck around and been there for the next round of negotiations with the NHL, we'd see a work stoppage for sure.

shabbs wrote:I'm glad he's gone too, I think if he had stuck around and been there for the next round of negotiations with the NHL, we'd see a work stoppage for sure.

100% in agreement with this statement. That was my point on hardcore, no compromise guys comment.

From The Globe & Mail yesterday:

Donald Fehr, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, has agreed to advise the National Hockey League Players' Association on its search for a new boss to replace Paul Kelly and on its plans to rewrite its constitution.

---

Fehr headed up the MLB players' union through some very serious conflicts with the league:

In December 1985, Fehr was voted executive director of the MLBPA after having served as acting director since December 9, 1983. Fehr successfully challenged the owners' collusion, leading to the owners paying $280 million in damages to the players.

Fehr led the players union through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and subsequent World Series cancellation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Fehr

What does the hiring of Fehr mean regarding the chances of a player strike? Stan Fischler, who's covered the NHL since the 50's, thinks it doesn't look good.

StanFischler

If Don Fehr is "advising" the NHL Players' Association, we all should prepare for another work stoppage after the CBA expires. He likes war.

I can't stand any of those guys. Union bosses don't sit well with me.