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Conflict of interest taints NHLPA investigation

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | 10:12 PM ET

The battle between Paul Kelly and the NHLPA just got even uglier.

The Toronto Star reported Wednesday that the union hired former Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry to investigate whether or not it was correct to fire Kelly for looking at confidential documents.

According to the newspaper, McMurtry found that Kelly committed "a serious breach of trust" and that there was "legal cause to terminate him."

But the NHLPA should never have hired McMurtry to investigate Kelly.

And McMurtry should never have accepted.

He is a close friend of disgraced former executive director Alan Eagleson.

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Winners and losers in Coyotes case

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | 09:09 PM ET

A quick rundown of winners and losers now that the Coyotes future is decided – for a few months anyway.

Winner: Gary Bettman. In the courtroom, Bettman gets almost everything he wants.

Technically, the NHL did not win the case. But more importantly to the commissioner, it did not lose to Jim Balsillie.

There is now legal precedent that the league controls its franchises. You want a team, you've got to go through him.

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What's next for Balsillie, NHL, Coyotes?

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | 06:22 PM ET

So in the end, bankruptcy court judge Redfield T. Baum took what was behind door No. 3.

Nothing.

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Sundin one of Maple Leafs' best, but not the greatest

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | 12:18 PM ET

Back in 1994 when Cliff Fletcher acquired a young Mats Sundin from the Quebec Nordiques, he had two goals in mind.

One was to push the Maple Leafs, who in the previous two springs had gotten to the Stanley Cup semifinals and stalled, over the top.

In Fletcher’s mind, even though he had to give up the immensely popular and talented Wendel Clark, who was coming off a career year for goals, and reliable defenceman Sylvain Lefebvre in the deal, it was worth it because Sundin might be the missing the piece.

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Canada faces challenges with long-term player development plan

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | 11:32 AM ET

The Canadian Soccer Association held a press conference on Wednesday to announce BMO as the presenting partner for the “Wellness to World Cup” initiative as well as to introduce Sylvie Beliveau as the new LTPD (long term player development) manager.

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Western Conference predictions...Page 3

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | 12:14 AM ET

Each week, Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman brings you his take on the world of sports. Click, peruse, debate, comment.

NO MORE EASY NIGHTS...

ST. LOUIS

Why I'm right: It's easy to go from outhouse to (nearer) the penthouse, which is what both St. Louis and Columbus did last season. What's harder is finding the consistency to stay there, especially in a tough division. Will all of the players who took strides stay at that level?

What's unusual about the Blues rise is that it occurred despite serious injuries to important people. Paul Kariya played 15 games, Eric Brewer 28 and Andy McDonald 46. Erik Johnson never played at all. Brewer will be late to start the season, but will plugging all of them back into the lineup ruin the chemistry?

Johnson's injury prevents him from fulfilling his enormous potential.

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Western Conference predictions...Page 2

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | 12:03 AM ET

Each week, Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman brings you his take on the world of sports. Click, peruse, debate, comment.

I HONESTLY HAVE NO CLUE...

SAN JOSE

Why I'm right: Look, we all know they're going to have a great regular season. That's just an 82-game practice for the Sharks. Doug Wilson promised big changes after the Anaheim defeat and there was one. Is that enough? I'm still not convinced the right mix exists.

You can count on Dan Boyle. But the season comes down to Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Evgeny Nabokov. Can you count on them?

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NHLPA update and Western Conference predictions

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 | 11:50 PM ET

Each week, Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman brings you his take on the world of sports. Click, peruse, debate, comment.

First, an NHLPA update. On a conference call last night, the players addressed complaints that they were not consulted about the decision to fire Paul Kelly.

Each team rep was given the opportunity to ask as many questions as necessary and now they're to go back to their teammates with the answers.

No final decisions were made - although one player said to me that at no time did anyone ask about re-instating Kelly as executive director. It's unlikely then that would happen.

There is another conference call scheduled for Sunday. That's the big one because the final decision on how to proceed with Kelly's termination will be made during that time.

Ok, here's the Western Conference preview. Eastern rundown was yesterday.

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The good, the bad, and the inevitable

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 | 05:06 PM ET

Who needs 30 games when one tells you everything you need to know?

All the necessary information about Toronto FC was contained in a single chapter in Chicago this past Saturday. The game was a microcosm of not just this season but, perhaps, the franchise to date.

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Who's above water, and who's treading water?

Monday, September 28, 2009 | 11:08 AM ET

IF I HAD ANY GUTS, I’D PICK ...

TAMPA

Why I’m right: After spending like a teenage girl with their father’s credit card, the Lightning got good value this time. Mattias Ohlund is an outstanding pickup, particularly where Victor Hedman is concerned. You can’t find a better mentor for a potential franchise defenceman.

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