A Civil War is about to begin in the NHLPA

[Resolute]

It may be official, but if there was any wrong doing on the NHLPA's part and if it is determined that they acted in an illegal fashion, the CBA could actually be considered null and void. An agreement/contract can't be entered into if one party has acted in an illegal manner. That's why this upcoming hearing is so important. If the Saskin and Linden mafia acted illegally, there goes the CBA.

What Carpenter said...

The debate is over the legality of Saskin's election as as Executive Director, not over the legality of the CBA, or the vote that the players took to ratify it. If the whiners can prove that Saskin was improperly or illegally installed as ED, they can likely force him out, but that alone would not invalidate the CBA.

 

[hbk]

even if it did mean that the NHLPA could cancel the agreement how would they be able to spin an arguement to garner public support to go back to a lock-out/strike situation? Anything short of Ted Saskin being Gary Bettman's illegitimate son, the players would be crucified by the media. That, and I'm sure the players don't want to go back to the days without a paycheck. It's not like these guys are living cheap.

At some point the players are going to just want Mr. Klatt to go away. Especially if they are all getting more than what Goodenow had offered in a 24% rollback with an increasing salary cap.

 

[Wetcoaster]

Nothing Rich Winter has ever done has ever helped the NHL or hockey in general. That should tell you well enough which side should be supported.

Pardon????

Rich Winter (along with Carl Brewer and Ron Salcer) was instrumental in having Eagleson's activities as head of the NHLPA audited by Ed Garvey, filing a complaint with the the RCMP which resulted in the laying of charges against Eagleson and ultimately forcing Eagleson out of the NHLPA.

When Winter was unable to interest any Canadian reporters in taking on Eagleson, he turned over his information to Massachussetts reporter Russ Conway who wrote an award winning series of investigative articles and a book on Eagleson's activities. Much of that work formed the foundation for FBI racketeering and fraud charges against Eagleson.

Garvey's report, which was put together with the help of Canadian player agents Rich Winter and Ron Salcer, was the document that helped topple Eagleson. Two years after it was written, Eagleson was deposed as union leader and replaced by Goodenow, a Detroit lawyer. And Garvey's report was taken up by Russ Conway, the rumpled sports editor of the Lawrence, Mass., Eagle-Tribune, who launched a seven-year investigation into Eagleson that culminated in his book, Game Misconduct. The book, in turn, was used by the FBI in its three-year investigation, which resulted in 34 felony counts against Eagleson.

http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011473