I'm still torn on where to side with all of this. There's been many stories from the media about these released emails, but until you read each and every one do you really know the whole story? And even if you were to read all of them who knows what conversations took place over the phone or in person?
Also emails are very much like text messages, tone is very hard to determine, especially from an outsiders perspective. I know I've sent many emails and texts that we misinterpreted because the recipient read it in a different tone than I intended.
Also, every one of the media stories on these emails have jumped over years to establish their point of view. Take the linked story for example. It included emails from 2007, emails to Bob Mac in 2008, emails from 2011, 2012, 2013, a news story from 2012.
To put it in HF terms, they are cherry picking stats from 7 years (but not including 2009 and 2010) to make their point that the NHL dropped the ball.
As for Bettman's fear about the NHLPA protecting the enforcer role and the head of the NHLPA protecting steroid users, we have to remember that email was sent in Sept 2011, around one year after Fehr became the head of the NHLPA. I'm wondering if Bettman hadn't figured out Fehr's priorities as I'm sure Fehr was playing his cards close to his chest heading into the last year of the CBA.
I'm not siding with the NHL here, but I'm not ready to form a lynch mob on them either. Like I said, there is a lot of information out there that I haven't read and even more that hasn't been released. Unlike media outlets, whos job is to generate clicks on their articles, I'm not willing to cherry pick which emails to read and which ones to ignore.