NHLPA Voting On Allowing Don Fehr To Aid In Exec Dir Search

NHL Players Want Fehr's Assistance In Finding New Exec Dir, Among Other Things

NHL player reps voted in support of allowing outgoing MLBPA Exec Dir Don Fehr to assist the NHLPA in finding a new Exec Dir, among other things, on a conference call Sunday night, but there were not enough players on the call to establish a quorum, sources said. The 30 player reps who make up the Exec Board, the governing body of the union, now have until tomorrow evening to vote, as the constitution allows reps to send in votes to the union by e-mail or other means within 72 hours of a board meeting. The vote needs 20 yes votes to pass and 25 total votes to meet the quorum requirement. It was not clear what the vote tally was on the call, but one source said that all the players on the call voiced support for Fehr, and another said that it is expected that he would get the needed votes. Fehr, who has led the MLBPA for 26 years, has been widely regarded as the most powerful union chief in sports. He announced earlier this year that he would be retiring no later than March, and it is expected that General Counsel Michael Weiner will be formally elected Exec Dir at the MLBPA’s annual meeting next month. Sources said Fehr has agreed to provide the NHLPA with as much or as little assistance as player reps need, at no charge, other than having travel or other expenses reimbursed by the hockey players union. Fehr, reached by phone yesterday, said, “I have no comment and were anything to develop, it would be announced by the NHLPA.” Meanwhile, sources said the review committee made up of Sharks D Rob Blake, AHL Chicago Wolves D Chris Chelios, Red Wings D Nicklas Lidstrom and Bruins RW Mark Recchi gave an update on their activities. As previously reported the committee is considering hiring Ottawa-based attorney David Scott and Chicago-based Navigant Consulting to conduct the review of the firing of former NHLPA Exec Dir Paul Kelly, among other things. But sources said that a decision to hire Scott and Navigant had not been made (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal).

BEATING THEM TO THE PUNCH: In Toronto, Damien Cox wrote it is "hilarious to hear Buzz Hargrove claim he quit because he wasn't being allowed to do his job as NHLPA ombudsman." Cox: "Hargrove was scheduled to be fired [Sunday] night and simply beat the union to the punch. He was going to be fired because he tried to turn the job of ombudsman into emperor and made a fool out of himself" (THESTAR.com, 11/9).

NEED TO WORK TOGETHER: In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont noted the NHL salary cap is $56.8M this season, $100,000 more than in '08-09. But in "light of last season's books finally being settled, it makes little sense that there was any bump." Players had to "surrender a large amount of the escrow that in the second half of last season saw them yield nearly 25[%] of their paychecks to make sure they covered the potential shortfall." Dupont: "Players and owners need to cultivate old and new money streams if their partnership, as defined by the CBA, is going to lead to true (i.e. financial) success. Not easy in the best of circumstances, but all the more difficult with the Players Association still reeling" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/8).