I find it rather ironic that the NHLPA, still caught up in "procedure",
is the organization that remains tangled in bureaucracy as camps open
this week. The do-over of the Ted Saskin vote will appease some
and ultimately end in his appointment, but it's not lost on me how
consistent some of the comments surrounding this controversy are with
the entirety that was the 310 day lockout.



Some of the players have said in moving on,
that they just want to play and get past all the off ice matters that
have dominated the game for the past year. That also appeared to
be the case when half of the "Association's" constituency went overseas
to play for roughly one tenth of the money they could have made in
North America with the feeling that they were available to vote when
there was something to vote on. Then came February's shutdown of
all things NHL, once and for all, and suddenly players claiming that
they were kept in the dark and didn't know what the real issues were.



On the surface it would be easy to assume that
most of those who went to Europe to ply their trade expected a
mid-season return where they could re-coup about half of their salary
in 1995 abbreviated form and when that didn't happen, they suddenly
took notice. However, the attention now being paid to the
Executive Committee and the way all these deals have come about
(Lockout's End & Saskin's hiring) sounds a bit hollow to me.



The NHLPA is, after all, an Association by
design. They have gone to great links in years past to remain
one, especially north of the border, where union status would hold them
accountable to picket lines throughout the individual provinces.
That's why they were just getting around toapplyingfor
union status when it appeared that the league might entertain
replacement players back in the spring. Whether or not they still
are interested in that union status has somehow slipped off the pages
of the news, but nonetheless interesting.



The fact that most in the PA aren't all that
interested in the procedures that make up it's Constitution doesn't
surprise me at all. Especially considering the time of year we've
thankfully reached and the wonderful opportunity we all have to once
again concentrate on the game. However, whether it is a vocal
minority that is suddenly squawking or it's the true concern of the
majority, the only thing I know is that I don't know. I just
think it's ironic that an organization that has been so casual about
procedure in its past (see Alan Eagleson & Bob Goodenow's power
tactics) is suddenly becoming a stickler for the rules.



I'm not saying that Ted Saskin isn't the man
for the job or that he and the Executive Committee weren't instrumental
in ending the lockout. There is plenty of blame to go around for
the actions and inactivity of the past year it just seems to me that
the NHLPA hasn't stopped doling it out.

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