Dionne:"What are they fighting for, the top 40 guys who already have the money?"

[NHLFanSince2020]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=114960&hubName=nhl

Dionne quotes:
"There was distrust (between the two sides) in my day, too, but in the end, we got a deal done.

What are they fighting for, the top 40 guys who already have the money? I feel sorry for these kids here. What are they playing for? The love of the game.

I was a player rep but I was just a hockey player. You look to your executive director, your tax man and people like that.

If you tell me we were savvy guys, we were not. We're players. We know the game. I'd love to sit down in that room now and talk to (NHLPA head) Bob (Goodenow) and say, `It doesn't work like that'.

The kids who spoke (Commodore&Dagenais), that came from the heart, and they got shut down right away. I listened to the kid from Calgary and the kid from Montreal and it made sense. And then they went to a meeting and the guys say, "Now I understand better.'

Now, the hard-line guys are saying, `Look, times have changed. We have to run the business like it should be run. There's got to be a hole somewhere.

I don't think the owners are trying to crush the players. They're good businessmen. They want to operate now."

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[deathbear]

agreed.

 

[eye]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=114960&hubName=nhl

Dionne quotes:
"There was distrust (between the two sides) in my day, too, but in the end, we got a deal done.

What are they fighting for, the top 40 guys who already have the money? I feel sorry for these kids here. What are they playing for? The love of the game.

I was a player rep but I was just a hockey player. You look to your executive director, your tax man and people like that.

If you tell me we were savvy guys, we were not. We're players. We know the game. I'd love to sit down in that room now and talk to (NHLPA head) Bob (Goodenow) and say, `It doesn't work like that'.

The kids who spoke (Commodore&Dagenais), that came from the heart, and they got shut down right away. I listened to the kid from Calgary and the kid from Montreal and it made sense. And then they went to a meeting and the guys say, "Now I understand better.'

Now, the hard-line guys are saying, `Look, times have changed. We have to run the business like it should be run. There's got to be a hole somewhere.

I don't think the owners are trying to crush the players. They're good businessmen. They want to operate now."

Exacty what I and others have been saying for months now. These guys rely totally on Goodenow and now many of them will have to eat their words and play under a cap if they want to continue their dream of playing in the NHL. Dionne and many other retired hockey players that now have real life experience and in many cases business experience now understand how they were manipulated by Goodenow and Eagleson.

The players need a rep that actually cares about the players and the game and not just EGO, stubborn pride which is what Goodenow is all about. I have a feeling that Linden and other players are responsible for the latest offer to accept working under a cap for certain concessions. Goodenow would just let the season end and allow the game to experience unprecedented and damage that will never be overome.

I really think that Goodenow has a hidden agenda to get back at the NHL because he didn't get the chance to play in the league. At least that's the impression I get from listening to him.