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Ference Says Vote To Fire
Kelly Done By Secret Ballot |
Bruins D and player rep Andrew Ference said he finds it "laughable" that he is being
labeled as an ally of former NHLPA Ombudsman Eric Lindros and a key player in the ouster of former union Exec Dir Paul Kelly, according to Allan Maki of the GLOBE & MAIL. Ference said that the vote to fire Kelly held on August 31 in Chicago was done by a secret ballot so the 30 members on the NHLPA Exec Board "could vote freely." The secret ballot "produced a 22-5 vote in favour of dismissing Kelly," and Ference said, "If the CEO of IBM has leadership issues, trust issues, issues in the office, it's a no-brainer. You pull the trigger because it's not working. ... We made the decision to take the high road and not air our dirty laundry." Kelly in an e-mail in response said, "I am not going to engage in a public debate with Andrew Ference, who will be judged by his own actions." Meanwhile, Maki notes during the meetings "leading up to the vote, the players were also advised" by outgoing MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr (
GLOBE & MAIL, 9/11). SI.com's Jim Kelley noted there is a "buzz in hockey circles that the NHLPA is thinking about trying to hire" Fehr as Exec Dir. But it "looks more like a smokescreen designed to take pressure off" the NHLPA. It is "hard to imagine Fehr as a candidate when" NHLPA interim Exec Dir Ian Penny acknowledged this week that the process of finding a new leader is "undetermined because 'some players aren't sure the old way is the best way to find the right person.'" Kelley wrote in "dismissing Kelly without giving a voice to players like superstars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin right down to the player in the press box who is hoping to find a spot on the fourth line or as a seventh or eighth defenseman, the reps did the people they represent a tremendous disservice." The union also "provides no voice for retired players," and to "exclude so many isn't just wrong, it's shameful" (
SI.com, 9/10).
