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A Vote For Orr
by Paul on 03/12/07 at 03:30 PM ET
Comments (4)
from Allan Muir at Sports Illustrated,
Whoever takes the job must be someone who enjoys the respect of everyone in the union, and who understands the players’ priorities. Ideally, it will be someone who can build some bridges and get the players back on the same page.
That guy might be Bobby Orr.
Would Orr want that kind of aggravation? He hasn’t said. And he’s certainly not the sort of man who’d campaign for a job while someone else was still warming the chair. But his candidacy would boast a lot of favorable factors.
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Comments
The PA needs a labour lawyer who’s neither been scarred by nor bears a grudge toward the NHL’s Good Old Boys’ Club--they need someone who simply isn’t interested in backroom deals, nor a, “What the players don’t know won’t hurt them” mentality.
I don’t buy Muir’s argument that the NHLPA needs someone who “understands a hockey player’s mentality.” They simply need someone who will best represent their on-ice and off-ice interests. If that person can’t wrap his or her head around what motivates a professioanl athlete, they shouldn’t apply for the position.
Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 03/12/07 at 03:26 PM ET
The “hockey players’ mentality” is no different than any other person’s mentality in this case--they want to have their interests represented by someone they can trust in negotiations with the owners, without wondering if they are getting a story that is spun to fit an agenda other than their own. This is no different than members of any union. Specific issues vary, but the person in the position can determine which concerns are most pressing to the players by, oh, maybe COMMUNICATING with them? I can’t see that any special hockey sense is necessary for the right candidate.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 03/12/07 at 03:53 PM ET
Whatever the NHLPA does, it had better engage the services of a professional executive search firm to find experienced, proven candidates, rather than merely pick someone within the current circle of influence. Think about it - this person will be reponsible for negotiating the commercial terms of business for a multi-billion dollar organization. You don’t just hand that over to any old ex-player, no matter how well liked he is.
My vote goes for Don King…
Posted by The Forechecker from Tennessee on 03/12/07 at 04:39 PM ET
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With all due respect to Mr. Orr, I don’t want to see another NHL agent taking control of the PA and then following their own agenda. That’s what got them in trouble in the first place with Eagleson and Goodenow.
Time to find someone with fresh ideas and a fresh approach, and that means from outside the hockey world. I don’t have any specific names, but if there’s anyone out there like Marvin Miller, who did so much for MLB players, then the PA should hire him/here as soon as possible.
Posted by Spector from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada on 03/12/07 at 03:21 PM ET