The NHL Players Association announced Thursday they were terminating the contract of Executive Director Ted Saskin.
“TORONTO (May 10, 2007): Following a conference call with the Executive Board of the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) on Thursday afternoon, the NHLPA announced that the Executive Board voted to terminate the employment of Ted Saskin as Executive Director and General Counsel, effective immediately. The Executive Board is considering its options with respect to Ken Kim.
As this is an internal matter, the NHLPA will not be making further comment at this time.”
The reason for Saskin’s termination was his role in conducting what was described as “wholly improper” surveillance of players’ e-mails.
The question now is who becomes the NHLPA’s Executive Director.
The PA’s previous directors have had a mixed record, with all of them meeting unseemly job termination. The first director, Alan Eagleson, was eventually convicted of defrauding the players pension plan for his own gain.
His successor, Bob Goodenow, ushered in a period of unprecedented wealth for the players, but he was also partially responsible for the contentious atmosphere that poisoned labor negotiations between the PA and the league, resulting in a strike and two lockouts.
Ultimately, he lost the support of the players during the last lockout, as they agreed to accept a salary cap. Once the new CBA was ratified and implemented, Goodenow either re-signed or was fired (depending on who you talk to), paving the way for Saskin, his chief lieutenant, taking his place.
But there were questions as to the method of his hiring and the hefty salary he was given, which several dissident players, led by Chris Chelios, Dwayne Roloson, Eric Lindros and former player Trent Klatt, claimed circumvented the PA’s charter and by-laws. It was their efforts that resulted in the PA membership agreeing to launch an internal investigation into Saskin's hiring.
Still, Saskin probably could’ve survived this, as he had the overwhelming support of the membership, and had done a good job in landing the players a much better deal than originally perceived by the PA's critics when the CBA was implemented in July 2005. His concern about the dissidents, however, spurred him into taking the sel####estructive step of spying on his players’ e-mails.
It remains to be seen who the PA brings in to replace Saskin, but whoever it is will not only have to benefit the players in future labor talks with the league but must also negotiate without rancor with the league .
The NHL cannot stand another lengthy work stoppage when the current CBA expires in 2011. There must be more willingness for positive negotiation in a timely manner between the owners and players. Another work stoppage could cause irreparable harm to the NHL, especially in the American sports market.
The PA reportedly has a search list of twenty potential candidates to replace Saskin, and they’ll obviously take their time to screen those candidates before hiring a suitable replacement.
It won’t do the players any good to bring in someone who’s a “Goodenow clone”, as that'll send the wrong signal to the league that the next round of labor talks could be every bit as vicious as those in the recent past.
Conversely, the players don’t want a glad-handing backslapper, who’ll climb into bed with the owners for his personal benefit. Neither do they need a milquetoast, someone who’ll only put up token resistance if the league takes a hard line in the next round of talks.
And as Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail noted, the players also have to take more responsibility to take more interest into their affairs, rather than trusting a small cabal of players, lawyers and agents to make the decisions for them.
In short, the players need a savvy negotiator capable of uniting the players, keeping them informed as well as interested in labor issues, but won't raise the hackles of the hard-liners among the NHL team owners. He’ll have to be willing to negotiate with the league yet bring the players a beneficial deal.
Whoever the PA chooses as their new director could have a significant impact on the course of the next CBA negotiations, and in turn, perhaps the future of the NHL itself.
Hi Lyle:
I was shocked to hear that Siskin was allegedly spying on players through their emails. Who did the man think he was working for? The Government?
The Globe & Mail guy had a good point about players taking care of their own affairs, except probably 19 out of 20 are ill equipt to do so. They play JR hockey as they go to school and right away schooling takes a back seat.
I don't know how it is in Canada now, but it is clear to anyone with half a brain, that here in the USA the Gov't wants the kids ignorant. Not stupid but ill educated. They even have a name for it...[The dumbing of America]..Couple the fact that schooling is secondary to these kids with the fact the schools don't teach anyway and you get players who are not equipt to look after their own affairs. [who but a lawyer can understand that mumbo jumbo in a contract?] So they hire agents, some of who are lawyers[and we ALL know who their first interest is], to look after their affairs.
I could tell you stories about some agents from the old days that would curl your toes.
There are many fine agents out there, Bobby Orr for one, who are hard working and honest with their clients best interest at heart.
Sounds to me like Chelios and Roloson might be good guys for the NHLPA hierarchy when their playing days are over.
I don't think it's that the players today are lesser educated in that most of them didn't play during the Eagleson era. The majority of today's players came in under the Goodenow years when salaries went through the roof and the PA coffers swelled from outside revenue such as hockey cards and brand labelling. They have little stomach now for any fight with the league because they've done so well financially.
Today's players simply put their trust in their agents, particularly when it comes to PA dealings. They're ignorant for the most part about how the association works, as was very evident by Goodenow's firing/resignation and how Saskin came to power.
Too often players are getting contracts for salaries even they are a bit puzzled by. I know of a player who got a big raise that even shocked him. When he was asked why he sought so much, he said it was his agent that got it for him and even he was surprised in the end by the amount.
I learned alot about the business of hockey covering the last lockout and one of the lessons was the players aren't as well informed about their association and aren't as militant as I'd originally believed. They're not stupid, they're just not that interested in the business of hockey, preferring to trust a small cabal of lawyers, agents and players who are interested in the business side to run the PA for them and get the best deal possible in labor negotiations.
I totally agree Spector, I think that from a players standpoint they just want to play and keep their focus on their game and let others take care of the business side. Younger players are trying to live out their dreams of playing, that alone takes up most of their time and attention. If an agent is there telling them not to sweat the other stuff that's what you pay me for, they tend to except it for what it is. And why not? Getting paid for doing what you love to do without having to deal with all of the behind the scenes stuff is pretty easy for a kid to accept. I believe it is more of a disinterest in the innerworks than a lack of education. These days you have to be pretty smart to play at the highest level, just being a humble farm boy with good hands doesn't cut it anymore.
The NHLPA needs to think outside the box on this one. Don't hire a hockey guy. Look for mabeythe right hand man in the NFL or somthing like that. The goal we want is labor/owner peace.
But if you are going to hire inside Trent Klatt is the perfect choice
I feel that in order to end the lockout, the players knew they had to get rid of Goodenow. But it's pretty obvious they didn't want Saskin in there either. They waited for the first opportunity (him messing up) to get rid of him, and boy did he deliver. If a former player has the competency to handle the job, that would be great. But I'm not going to hold my breath, because I really don't know what direction they'll go. I just hope they get someone who can work well with both sides. After what just happened, the entire NHL needs to make sure the fans never feel uneasy about the CBA. Let us worry about on the ice issues.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
