Morning Papers Take: The battle raging inside the NHLPA

According to Elliotte Friedman of CBC he took about three weeks to put this together and if you want more information on what is going on inside the NHLPA be sure to read this article:

The hardcore anti-Kelly group used the general apathy to get their way. (As the Bruins were arguing Andrew Ference’s role in all of this, one player said, “Maybe we should support the guy who did all this work while the rest of us were golfing this summer.” Most others thought Ference took advantage.)

However, there were two things they didn’t count on. First was Glenn Healy’s resignation. (Full disclosure, in case anyone reading this doesn’t know: We work together. But it should also be known he thinks I’m too easy on Kelly’s enemies.)

When Sean Avery ended a between-periods interview with Healy by saying, “We need you back,” (or something like that), it might have been the only time anyone in the league agreed with him. Healy was – and still is – a popular figure among players. It’s no surprise that his resignation became a rallying point.

The second thing they didn’t count on was the agents.

Click here to read article.

Thankfully it has been awhile since we have heard about any more resignations/firings from the NHLPA but in case you were unaware of where the NHLPA currently sits, or how it got to this point, Friedman does an excellent job of outlining both the past and present circumstances of the PA.  It really is quite shocking the level of animus between some factions within the PA. 

What is also quite interesting is the current disparity between Goodenow’s iron fist rule and the apparent lack of power for anyone who is heading this organization.  As Friedman says;

The right approach is somewhere in the middle – polite, but firm.

If the players expect to get anything done for the next CBA they need to unify, but from what is being written it sounds like that is still quite a ways away.