NHLPA's Kelly Eyes Return To ESPN, More Player Input In Decisions

In a wide-ranging interview with Rogers Sportsnet's Daren Millard, NHLPA Exec Dir Paul Kelly said he has had a "very healthy dialogue with the top people at ESPN" and he is "hoping for the benefit of the sport we will be able to bring ESPN back into the mix within the next year or so." Kelly said current NHL cable rights holder Versus does a "terrific job of the broadcasts but they still have limitations in terms of finding them on the dial and their availabilities in hotels and sports bars." Kelly said NHL players, "particularly the veteran players who have been around for a long time, they long for the days when you could find hockey on ESPN and ESPN2 and ESPN frankly wants the NHL back on their network. You know they are very eager and interested putting us on. They would like to have a designated game of the week. ... They would like to do a large chunk of the playoffs as they did in the past" (SPORTSNET.ca, 10/15).

BROADENING HORIZONS: Kelly said of possible European expansion for the NHL, "I think you could drop down a couple of teams in North America and add five or six teams overseas. ... My view of expansion is if you're going to expand you have to do it smartly. Do it in areas we know will strongly support the sport. ... And that means if you're going to expand in North America you've got to think of southern Ontario. You can't just automatically think of Kansas City or Las Vegas." Asked if he sees "some franchises that are going to face the reality of relocation," Kelly said, "At this point I have seen nothing concrete to suggest that any of the existing teams are in some kind of financial straits." Kelly said of RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie's interest in acquiring an NHL team, "I don't know how you turn your back on someone who loves the sport, has got lots of his own money he's willing to spend and he's got a geographic area I think is natural for a team" (SPORTSNET.ca, 10/15).

GETTING THEIR DUE: Kelly said of the current CBA, which has been criticized by the players, "There are a number of aspects to the CBA that have been better for the players than perhaps was first appreciated." But he added, "I don't like the fact the players don't have a say in expansion or relocation of teams and don't benefit from that if that in fact does happen. I think we need to make changes to the disciplinary system in our league." Asked how the current economic climate might impact the NHL, Kelly said, "I'm an optimist by nature and I don't think the economic downturn is going to affect our league as dramatically as people might speculate." He added, "I don't think the economy generally is at the top of the list of issues that might cause the players to seriously consider terminating the new CBA" (SPORTSNET.ca, 10/15). In Michigan, George James Malik wrote NHL players "won't opt out of the CBA," and the "fact that Kelly suggests that he's laying the foundation for avoiding a third owner-induced lockout to 'save' or 'cure' the game of its issues should encourage fans and media alike" (MLIVE.com, 10/16). Bruins D and player rep Andrew Ference said that the players "will wait until ... Kelly visits with the team next month before making any decisions on terminating" the CBA. League sources indicated that the players "will not vote to end the CBA." But Ference "sees some issues that the NHL and NHLPA must address: First, the escalating salary cap. ... Second, the explosion of megabucks contracts, especially for young players in the tier below superstars" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/15).

SWING VOTE: SI.com's Allan Muir wrote of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin dropping the puck at last Saturday's Rangers-Flyers game, "Enough with the hand-wringing. ... Whatever the motivations of [Flyers Chair] Ed Snider, it's unlikely that Palin's presence at the ceremony swayed the opinion of a single voter. So what we're left with is arguably the most talked-about woman in the Western world showing her support and generating publicity for our sport. That's a good thing, people" (SI.com, 10/15).