NHL Players Want Answers About Paul Kelly's Dismissal

NHL Players Want Answers From Those Who Pushed Kelly Out Of Office

NHL players are "beginning to pose some hard questions and want some answers from those" who pushed to oust NHLPA Exec Dir Paul Kelly, according to Ken Campbell of THE HOCKEY NEWS. Free agent D and Exec Board member Chris Chelios said that "there will a conference call among the membership 'in the near future' to address their concerns." Chelios: "There’s an awful lot of conversation going on among the players. ... Players are going to have to find out how this could have happened to us again and then, obviously we’re going to have to make some decisions. There’s all kinds of questions about the process." Campbell noted it "wouldn't be a surprise if some of the members of the advisory board were replaced and the union’s constitution wasn’t altered -- again -- to give some powers back" to the Exec Dir. Meanwhile, a source said that the hiring of NHLPA Ombudsman Buzz Hargrove and the "move to hire out consultant Anne Marie Turnbull to conduct a review" of Kelly's leadership "violated the constitution" of the union. After former NHLPA Ombudsman Eric Lindros resigned in February, Hargrove was hired "without Kelly's input or knowledge and was given a yearly salary of $130,000, despite the fact the ombudsman's job description calls for him to work no more than a few hours per week" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 9/14).

PARTING PACKAGE: In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont noted that Kelly's severance package from the NHLPA has yet to be finalized, but it is a "good bet that the longer they stall, the more it will gouge their wallets, given the growing amount of poor publicity the union is receiving throughout Canada" and the U.S. Dupont: "Leave it to the PA. They had the right guy, and they Just Said No. Again" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/13).