NHLPA Forms Committee To Review Constitution; Fehr To Advise

Fehr Has Agreed To Help NHLPA Review Union Constitution, Find New Exec Dir

The troubled NHLPA announced Thursday that it had voted to form a committee to search for a new executive director and a committee to review the union's constitution, and that outgoing MLBPA Exec Dir Don Fehr would work with both groups. The NHLPA, which has been plagued by mass resignations and controversy since player reps voted to fire former Exec Dir Paul Kelly in late August, announced that its Exec Board had "voted without objection" to work with Fehr, widely regarded as the most powerful union leader in sports. “After discussions with its Executive Board, I have agreed to assist the NHLPA committees established to review the union Constitution and to begin the process of finding a new Executive Director," Fehr said in a statement. "Hopefully, my experience at the MLBPA will be of help as the NHLPA members consider the reorganization of their union.” The NHLPA also announced that the Exec Board, made up of 30 player reps, had voted to create a search committee for a new executive director and that it would consist of up to five members of the union. "The selection process is underway and the committee members will be named shortly," the NHLPA said (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal). Fehr "insists he doesn't want" the job of NHLPA Exec Dir. Fehr: "I'm leaving my post in baseball because I've been doing this for 32 years. I want to go sit on beaches. I'm not looking for a full-time job." He added, "They've got to reach out and find the appropriate individuals to run the office" (TORONTO STAR, 11/13).

CONSTITUTION UNDER REVIEW: The NHLPA Thursday also announced that Sabres D Steve Montador, Panthers C Dominic Moore, Bruins G Tim Thomas and Stars G Marty Turco "will review the terms and operation of the NHLPA constitution, and will report its recommendations back to the Executive Board." The NHLPA constitution was rewritten in '07 after the union fired Kelly's predecessor, Ted Saskin, for reading players' private e-mails, in order to provide more checks on potential abuses of power by the executive director. But critics say the changes weakened the position and created five competing centers of power, which led to the current chaos at the Toronto-based hockey union. Both the Search Committee and the Constitution Committees "will work concurrently with and have access to information from the recently formed NHLPA Review Committee," the union said. That committee, made up of four NHL veteran players -- Sharks D Rob Blake, AHL Chicago Wolves D Chris Chelios, Red Wings D Nicklas Lidstrom and Bruins RW Mark Recchi -- is charged with investigating the circumstances of Kelly's firing, among other things (Mullen). Thomas said, "With the constitution, we have to find out that if there was a problem, where it was, what we can do in the future, and what we can do to avoid it." He added, "I'm not even saying there is a problem yet. We don't know. We haven't gotten to that part" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/13).

MODEL OF DYSFUNCTION: In DC, Tim Lemke lists the NHLPA as the most dysfunctional organization in sports and writes, "Five directors in three years. Firings. Resignations. The hiring of ... Fehr as an adviser may help, but chaos runs deep in hockey's union" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 11/13).