NHLPA Admits Report Against Kelly Could Have Been Compromised

NHLPA Has Indicated It May Seek A Second Legal Opinion On Kelly's Firing

The NHLPA last night indicated that it "may seek a second legal opinion into the firing" of Exec Dir Paul Kelly after learning that the "author of a first report had ties to disgraced former union head Alan Eagleson," according to Tony Van Alphen of the TORONTO STAR. The NHLPA in a statement said that the union and its counsel "did not know about any links" between Eagleson and former Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, who "wrote a legal opinion that concluded the union had cause in firing Kelly." Reports linked Eagleson to "directing $20,000 in campaign contributions to McMurtry and three other candidates for the Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership in 1984." NHLPA Communications Dir Jonathan Weatherdon said that the union's exec board will "discuss the possibility of another opinion at its next meeting Sunday" (TORONTO STAR, 10/1). Kelly's attorney H. James Hartley argued, "Paul Kelly’s rights should be decided by a court or an arbitrator with no connection to the parties, not by a document leaked to the media. The people who ousted Paul seem not to understand the basic notions of due process, which also include obtaining Paul’s side of the story" (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/1).

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE? ESPN.com's Lester Munson cited sources as saying that free agent D and exec board member Chris Chelios "made an impassioned 30-minute plea in a players-only conference call on Monday, demanding an investigation of Kelly's dismissal, the rescission of a five-year contract awarded in June" to current NHLPA interim Exec Dir Ian Penny and the dismissals of Ombudsman Buzz Hargrove and Advisory Board Chair Ron Pink. While some players "voiced their disagreements with Chelios' suggestions during and after the call, the group agreed that it would continue to ponder the issues and that the situation would be addressed again in a conference call on Sunday." Meanwhile, sources indicated that Kelly and a "battery of six lawyers are examining the circumstances of the meeting and other union actions to determine whether Kelly will challenge it." Three teams -- the Hurricanes, Senators and Sharks -- "had no representatives at the meeting where Kelly was dismissed." Kelly has not discussed a possible return to the union, but a source said, "If he is asked to return, he would give it serious consideration" (ESPN.com, 9/30).

WORK IT OUT: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he is "hopeful that whatever's going on in the union it gets resolved and we can move forward." Bettman: "My strong preference would be to have a strong, stable union that we can work with to grow this game and to grow the business of the game. Despite the commentary to the contrary, we've always had a very good relationship" ("NHL Live," NHL Network, 9/30).