Paul Kelly Officially Fired

[Jake Ryan 1]

Jake Ryan,

Socialism does NOT belong in Sports! You are 100% correct. I have always said that if teams cannot field a team that makes money, then they should fold, not get money from the Redwings or Leafs, or whoever! I hate the fact that the only reason Atlanta, Nashville, Florida, Tampa Bay, Phoenix all are still playing because The Redwings/Leafs/Canadiens make all of the money and have to hand out welfare checks to these crap teams!

Back on the subject, I think the firing could be a mistake because they have no one to replace Paul with! Sure they have an intern sitting in, but he is not going to do anything to make the situation better. I would love to see a Chelios, Shanahan type as NHLPA leader, I think all the players would come together if they had on of their own leading them!

It is especially frustrating considering that the Wings have drafted most of their talent. It would be different if the Wings were like the Yankees and just bringing in 10 forwards and 4 defensemen every year from other teams, but the truth is that he Wings have expensive players because they draft so well.

Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Kronwall, Filppula, etc. There are a few players (Rafalski, Stuart, Hossa) that the Wings made deals for, but that is not the standard M.O. of the team. I don't think the salary cap benefits the NHL at all. I think hockey needs dominant teams. Not parity.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From Toronto Star :

The NHL Players Association may not hold Paul Kelly in high esteem any longer.

But the Hockey Hall of Fame still does.

In an unusual move, the Hall of Fame has asked the deposed union leader to stay on as a member of the board of directors, and Kelly has accepted. It's partly evidence of the support Kelly has among the game's alumni, many of whom have benefited financially by moves during Kelly's 20-month tenure to boost their pensions.

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[StevieY9802 6]

It is especially frustrating considering that the Wings have drafted most of their talent. It would be different if the Wings were like the Yankees and just bringing in 10 forwards and 4 defensemen every year from other teams, but the truth is that he Wings have expensive players because they draft so well.

Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Kronwall, Filppula, etc. There are a few players (Rafalski, Stuart, Hossa) that the Wings made deals for, but that is not the standard M.O. of the team. I don't think the salary cap benefits the NHL at all. I think hockey needs dominant teams. Not parity.

But pre-lockout the Wings weren't doing that. 2001-04: Lang, Schneider, Whitney, Robitaille, Hull, Hatcher, Wooley, Hasek, Joseph, Steve Thomas. Am I missing anyone? And thats only those years. Go furthers back and there's Chelios, Duchesne, Verbeek, Clark and so on. The last 2 years before the lockout the Wings had a payroll of 70-80mil and saw a whole 6 playoffs wins with it. The two years following the lockout they had 12. i like the cap for one reason so far, it made the Wings build a team instead of just throwing money at talent. You say the league needs dominant teams but higher payroll doesn't mean that, look at what I just posted. The Wings have been more dominant with a cap the last 4 years than they were the 4 years before the cap. I think there needs to be a cap to stop teams from being stupid, or at least curtail that stupidness anyways. There needs to be a level playing field to an extent.

Don't get me wrong some teams need to be contracted or moved but I'm still for a cap. I've enjoyed the cap years more than the few years before the cap.

[kidish 0]

I doubt this one.

http://www.canada.com/Chelios+wants+Kelly+...3593/story.html

Chris Chelios is planning to talk with other players about the possibility of bringing back Paul Kelly as executive director of the National Hockey League Players' Association, according to a report on the website of a Montreal radio station.

According to the CKAC report, Chelios said he was misinformed when he was told Kelly was in a conflict of interest with Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux - two former players who have stakes in NHL teams. CKAC reports that perceived conflict led to Kelly's downfall. Chelios, currently a free agent, has a long history with the union.

Kelly was fired on Aug. 31 after a 10-hour meeting of the union's executive in Chicago. At the time, no specific reason was given for the dismissal, instead interim ombudsman Buzz Hargrove said it was a combination of issues. He had been on the job for less than two years before he was dismissed.

Lawyer Ian Penny temporarily took over Kelly's responsibilities in the wake of the firing, but no full-time replacement has been named.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From TSN :

The NHL Players' Association held a conference call on Monday night which consisted of the player representatives and full membership.

A source said the call wasn't contentious at all and the group talked about the procedure and events leading up to Paul Kelly's firing and was asked to take the discussion back to their teammates for further analysis.

Monday night's conference call was expected to ignite some heated discussion based on a number of players publicly questioning how the process was handled.

Interim executive director Ian Penny, advisory board members and interim ombudsman Buzz Hargrove were on the 2.5 hour call at the beginning before being asked to leave the discussion while players continued.

Another conference call will be held on Oct. 4, at which point the executive board will recommend how to handle Kelly's firing.

...

This whole mess seems to have Basil Eldon Hargrove's fingerprints all over it.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

This has been mentioned here before, but now a legal opnion makes it "official"; from Toronto Star :

The board of the NHL Players' Association had cause to fire executive director Paul Kelly over "a serious breach of trust" last month, according to a legal opinion by Ontario's former chief justice.

Kelly improperly obtained a full transcript of a confidential board meeting that excluded him; told the board he looked at only part of it but then informed colleagues he had read all of the contents including discussions about his performance, says the opinion by Roy McMurtry for the association.

"In conclusion, it is my opinion that there was legal cause to terminate Mr. Kelly because he engaged in a serious breach of trust and good faith," said McMurtry, in the nine-page legal opinion, obtained by the Star.

"His behaviour represented material and wilful misconduct involving the affairs of the association."

Kelly could not be reached for comment on the legal opinion Tuesday night.

...

I'm not sure if they're trying to bring out the dirty laundry in front of the media or circle the wagons in case there is a "wrongful dismissal" case launched by Mr. Kelly.

And, before anyone else says it...Roy McMurtry? I thought he was dead!

[kidish 0]

I'm not sure if they're trying to bring out the dirty laundry in front of the media or circle the wagons in case there is a "wrongful dismissal" case launched by Mr. Kelly.

And, before anyone else says it...Roy McMurtry? I thought he was dead!

What it glosses over is that Kelly only learned about the meetings' details (and the need to view the minutes) as a result of players coming to him with serious concerns in a breach of constitution -- which the players in that Vegas meeting DID do.

But you can't fire player reps now can you.

[toby91_ca 620]

This has been mentioned here before, but now a legal opnion makes it "official"; from Toronto Star :

I'm not sure if they're trying to bring out the dirty laundry in front of the media or circle the wagons in case there is a "wrongful dismissal" case launched by Mr. Kelly.

And, before anyone else says it...Roy McMurtry? I thought he was dead!

They are trying to justify terminition "with cause" to avoid having to pay him based on the remainder of his contract.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From Toronto Star :

The National Hockey League Players’ Association says it may seek a second legal opinion into the firing of executive director Paul Kelly after revelations that the author of a first report had ties to disgraced former union head Alan Eagleson.

The NHLPA said in a bombshell statement last night the union and outside counsel did not know about any links between Eagleson and Roy McMurtry, a former Ontario chief justice who recently wrote a legal opinion that concluded the union had cause in firing Kelly.

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[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

Mr. Donald S. Cherry gets it. Edited October 4, 2009 by cusimano_brothers

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From Toronto Star :

...

Hockey Night In Canada's Mike Milbury on the NHL players' association: "They need an organizational enema."

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[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From TSN :

The National Hockey League Players Association held a marathon conference call on Sunday that lasted over six hours.

The contract of former Executive Director Paul Kelly was discussed at length. The player reps and players participating in the call agreed to work on negotiating a settlement and do not intend on challenging the remainder of his agreement.

The group also agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Stu Grimson following his departure from the PA in November of 2007.

There was significant discussion, according to sources, on the futures of Ombudsman Buzz Hargrove, Interim executive director Ian Penny and advisory board chairman Ron Pink.

However, the players are still waiting for as many as ten teams to weigh in before a decision is made as to the direction they intend to go. The NHLPA is planning another conference call in the near future, although no date has been set.

I had heard that there was to be a total news blackout of what went on regarding this call; methinks there is someone working both sides.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From Toronto Star :

...

The next big NHLPA conference call is Sunday. Wonder if Ian Penny will be asked by any of the more courageous player reps about deleting emails on the union's system in which he dissed fired executive director Paul Kelly.

Are you listening Matt Stajan? Time to open your eyes, pal.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From TSN :

The NHLPA's executive board will conduct another conference call on Sunday and at least two key issues are expected to be addressed.

Sources say a motion is expected to be tabled to nominate players and outside counsel to once again do a thorough investigation of the players association.

If this motion is passed, it is likely full email accounts will be combed through, perhaps dating back to Paul Kelly's hiring as executive director in October, 2007. Of interest could be email exchanges between Eric Lindros and PA staff and executives following Lindros's resignation in February.

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Meanwhile, further evidence that interim executive director Ian Penny and Paul Kelly weren't on the same page has surfaced.

In an email written by Penny on August 18th, sources say, Penny mistakenly hit "reply all" when declining an invitation to golf. Six people received the email which included, "if PVK (Paul Kelly) playing, I would not want to anyway."

The email was swiftly recalled and was later brought up to the board in Chicago before being dismissed.

However, what it showed to those included in the email was a clear rift between general counsel (Penny) and the executive director 13 days before Kelly's firing in Chicago.

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[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

From Toronto Star :

The Paul Kelly saga appears to be over.

The NHL Players Association and its former executive director have reached an out-of-court agreement over his termination, with published reports suggesting Kelly will receive as much as $1.5 million for the two sides to end their relationship.

Kelly will also get $200,000 in lawyers’ fees in a deal that must still be ratified by the player representatives of the NHL’s 30 teams, according to the New York Post.

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