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Bob Goodenow Resigns As Head Of NHL Player’s Union
By Gary Araki July 28, 2005 |
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This morning, in Toronto, Bob Goodenow announced that he will be leaving his post as the head of the NHL Players’ Association, a day after the NHL released the 2005-2006 schedules. Goodenow, who’s been either praised or blamed for the labor situation which led to the cancellation of the entire 2004-2005 season, still had some time left on his current contract with the Association. It’s been well reported through other media outlets that some NHL players assess some blame on Goodenow for the loss of the entire season, and at the same time the new CBA has a salary cap and also has a salary cut for some of the members. Ted Saskin, who was the union’s senior director of business affairs and licensing, will be assuming the position that Goodenow had. Saskin, along with Goodenow, was an instrumental part of the negotiating group throughout the lockout. Saskin was actually more involved in the face-to-face negotiations than Goodenow was. In some ways it’s not too surprising that the resignation did occur so close after the approval of the new NHL contract. The new collective bargaining agreement was more of a win-win for the owners than it was for the players. Some observers had said earlier in the lockout that when it was all said and done, that there was good possibility that Goodenow wouldn’t remain as the head of the players’ union, if only because of his outright guarantee of no salary cap. That one item, which is a centerpiece of the signed contract, had been strongly opposed by Goodenow since the beginning of negotiations, back in 2003. Goodenow goes out as the head of the NHL Player’s Union having served 15 years. He presided over explosive growth in player salaries, and leaves the union with a new six year contract that should keep the NHL going for a while. |
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