The NHL Player's Association executive director Paul Kelley spoke to The Hockey News recently, and his words are eerily similar to what we all feel are the same as those on Gary Bettman's mind.
Attend:
THN: Turning to the NHL ownership picture, there’s a sense some observers get that there’s an elaborate shell game going on here, that the league is operating in a shaky U.S. economy, that three to five teams may be on the market. If there are teams that are relocated, do the players deserve to be heavily involved in the process?
PK: (after a moment of economic gobbledegook) But if you’re in Phoenix or you’re in Florida, it’s really tough for those teams to put people in the seats and sell the game. We understand that and maybe the revenue-sharing system is part of the answer. But our view is that if teams in any region suffer (financial) losses three or four years in a row, then stop complaining about it in a (business) system you created and imposed here, and start asking the question whether you’re in the right place.
I really didn't need to put that last part in bold, but I wanted it to sink in. This guy runs the player's union, for Goodenow's sake! And now he's in bed with the relocation folks.
As usual, Puck Daddy does his superb job summing up the comments, and there is most certainly going to be a lot more about this thrown in our faces in the days to come.
On a somewhat lighter note, can this guy EVER catch a break?
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