swflyers25
7-20-05, 4:46 PM
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Canadian Press
7/20/2005 3:40:52 PM
TORONTO (CP) - Mike Peca came to the players' meeting not only to vote on the new NHL labour agreement but also to support the union leadership that negotiated it.
The New York Islanders captain is tired of players griping about the deal and the negotiators at the NHL Players' Association who are responsible for it.
''I think it's unfair for guys to start to point the finger,'' Peca said prior to a meeting of more than 200 players Wednesday evening at a Toronto hotel. ''It is what it is.
''Any deal that we would have gotten was going to be significantly worse than the one we came off from. We tried to go in a certain direction and at a certain time the executive committee tried to make the best of the situation they were in and I think they did that. I think they did a nice job.''
Jeff O'Neill agrees with Peca and says it's time to move on. He says NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow is taking too much heat these days.
''As far as I'm concerned, he's done what we asked him to do,'' the Carolina Hurricanes winger said Wednesday as players arrived in droves at the hotel. ''He's led us and I think he's done the right things.
''Maybe as a group we underestimated how strong the owners were going to be. But we were all behind Bob and we were all in this together. For people to judge whether we won or lost this deal I think is ridiculous. We all got in this together and then some guys started piping off and maybe showed a few cracks in us as a group. But we're still in this together now.''
Goodenow's leadership was a hot button issue as players began the two-day meeting that will wrap up with Thursday's ratification vote. Heated words could be exchanged as some players demand to know what went wrong in their fight against a salary cap.
But veteran star Doug Weight said it's also important to look forward.
''When this is done, we're all going to be on the same side I hope,'' the St. Louis Blues centre said before the meeting. ''It's OK to have questions and it's OK to be heated about them. This is our livelihood after all.
''But I don't think it's going to help anybody to say: 'We could have done this last year, we could have done that.' It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. When you look at Bob or at the executive committee, I think they did a great job. We had to stand up for what we thought we could get and that's the nature of the business. Now we have to move on.''
Peca also feels players should keep their criticism in-house.
''It's just sad, to me, seeing guys point the finger,'' he said. ''We're proud to be hockey players. When you're in the locker-room and things aren't going well, you don't want to be the guy to point the finger. Guys should just save their opinions for the people that they're upset with and try to understand this better.''
Chris Pronger, meanwhile, cleared the air Wednesday. The St. Louis Blues player rep insists rumours of a coup involving him, Jarome Iginla, Robert Esche and Jeremy Roenick in February are completely untrue.
''What Jeremy Roenick has been doing? I don't talk to him so I don't know,'' Pronger said. ''I did talk to Iginla and Esche but I talked to a lot of other players as well.''
According to stories in the Ottawa Sun and Philadelphia Inquirer in mid-February, the four players tried to broker a deal behind the union's back. Roenick was quoted in the Inquirer at the time saying the four players had called NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly directly.
Pronger scoffs at that notion.
''I don't think anybody was trying to usurp leadership,'' Pronger said. ''Trevor (Linden) is obviously president and the executive committee is there to do a job and that's what they were doing. I don't think anybody was trying to usurp them.''
But he admits he got involved to the point where he made sure everyone knew where he stood as the league moved towards cancelling the season, hoping a deal could be had to avoid that.
''You're a human being and you've got ideas and if you're not letting them be heard and letting your opinions be heard, then you're not going to feel good about yourself six months down the line if you could have helped the process or help them come up with ideas to help bridge the gap or whatever the case may be,'' Pronger said. ''Just because you're speaking your mind and letting your opinions be known doesn't mean they have to use them.''
Iginla also denied being part of such a group when asked about it by The Canadian Press back on Feb. 19.
In the end, it appears Pronger was simply trying to help out best he could but his efforts weren't welcomed by the executive committee.
As for Goodenow, Pronger wouldn't bite when asked about the union leader's future.
''That's not my decision right now, I'm here to look at this deal, I'm not worried about who's the leader of the union right now,'' he said.
Pronger did say the proposed deal won't be liked by all.
''You're not going to please everyone all the time, it's going to be good for some and bad for others, but it's a deal we have to live with at this stage. We've entrusted the executive committee to do the job. They've been locked in a room for the last 12 weeks hammering this down. They deserve a lot of credit for getting an agreement with the league.''
The player rep meeting began at noon EDT and was slated to be followed by a full players' meeting beginning around 6 p.m., a session that was scheduled to go late into the night. The meeting resumes Thursday morning before a ratification vote is finally taken.
A news conference with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Goodenow is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday following the players' vote.
TSN (http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=130921)
Canadian Press
7/20/2005 3:40:52 PM
TORONTO (CP) - Mike Peca came to the players' meeting not only to vote on the new NHL labour agreement but also to support the union leadership that negotiated it.
The New York Islanders captain is tired of players griping about the deal and the negotiators at the NHL Players' Association who are responsible for it.
''I think it's unfair for guys to start to point the finger,'' Peca said prior to a meeting of more than 200 players Wednesday evening at a Toronto hotel. ''It is what it is.
''Any deal that we would have gotten was going to be significantly worse than the one we came off from. We tried to go in a certain direction and at a certain time the executive committee tried to make the best of the situation they were in and I think they did that. I think they did a nice job.''
Jeff O'Neill agrees with Peca and says it's time to move on. He says NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow is taking too much heat these days.
''As far as I'm concerned, he's done what we asked him to do,'' the Carolina Hurricanes winger said Wednesday as players arrived in droves at the hotel. ''He's led us and I think he's done the right things.
''Maybe as a group we underestimated how strong the owners were going to be. But we were all behind Bob and we were all in this together. For people to judge whether we won or lost this deal I think is ridiculous. We all got in this together and then some guys started piping off and maybe showed a few cracks in us as a group. But we're still in this together now.''
Goodenow's leadership was a hot button issue as players began the two-day meeting that will wrap up with Thursday's ratification vote. Heated words could be exchanged as some players demand to know what went wrong in their fight against a salary cap.
But veteran star Doug Weight said it's also important to look forward.
''When this is done, we're all going to be on the same side I hope,'' the St. Louis Blues centre said before the meeting. ''It's OK to have questions and it's OK to be heated about them. This is our livelihood after all.
''But I don't think it's going to help anybody to say: 'We could have done this last year, we could have done that.' It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. When you look at Bob or at the executive committee, I think they did a great job. We had to stand up for what we thought we could get and that's the nature of the business. Now we have to move on.''
Peca also feels players should keep their criticism in-house.
''It's just sad, to me, seeing guys point the finger,'' he said. ''We're proud to be hockey players. When you're in the locker-room and things aren't going well, you don't want to be the guy to point the finger. Guys should just save their opinions for the people that they're upset with and try to understand this better.''
Chris Pronger, meanwhile, cleared the air Wednesday. The St. Louis Blues player rep insists rumours of a coup involving him, Jarome Iginla, Robert Esche and Jeremy Roenick in February are completely untrue.
''What Jeremy Roenick has been doing? I don't talk to him so I don't know,'' Pronger said. ''I did talk to Iginla and Esche but I talked to a lot of other players as well.''
According to stories in the Ottawa Sun and Philadelphia Inquirer in mid-February, the four players tried to broker a deal behind the union's back. Roenick was quoted in the Inquirer at the time saying the four players had called NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly directly.
Pronger scoffs at that notion.
''I don't think anybody was trying to usurp leadership,'' Pronger said. ''Trevor (Linden) is obviously president and the executive committee is there to do a job and that's what they were doing. I don't think anybody was trying to usurp them.''
But he admits he got involved to the point where he made sure everyone knew where he stood as the league moved towards cancelling the season, hoping a deal could be had to avoid that.
''You're a human being and you've got ideas and if you're not letting them be heard and letting your opinions be heard, then you're not going to feel good about yourself six months down the line if you could have helped the process or help them come up with ideas to help bridge the gap or whatever the case may be,'' Pronger said. ''Just because you're speaking your mind and letting your opinions be known doesn't mean they have to use them.''
Iginla also denied being part of such a group when asked about it by The Canadian Press back on Feb. 19.
In the end, it appears Pronger was simply trying to help out best he could but his efforts weren't welcomed by the executive committee.
As for Goodenow, Pronger wouldn't bite when asked about the union leader's future.
''That's not my decision right now, I'm here to look at this deal, I'm not worried about who's the leader of the union right now,'' he said.
Pronger did say the proposed deal won't be liked by all.
''You're not going to please everyone all the time, it's going to be good for some and bad for others, but it's a deal we have to live with at this stage. We've entrusted the executive committee to do the job. They've been locked in a room for the last 12 weeks hammering this down. They deserve a lot of credit for getting an agreement with the league.''
The player rep meeting began at noon EDT and was slated to be followed by a full players' meeting beginning around 6 p.m., a session that was scheduled to go late into the night. The meeting resumes Thursday morning before a ratification vote is finally taken.
A news conference with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Goodenow is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday following the players' vote.
TSN (http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=130921)