Hull weighs in on Saskin’s hiring

Says all players should have input ‘Can’t shove this down our throats’

With NHL players divided over the fate of players’ association boss Ted Saskin, one of hockey’s free speakers has entered the fray by calling on the union’s 37member executive board to stop voting on whether Saskin should be hired as executive director. Phoenix Coyotes forward Brett Hull said yesterday in an interview that all of the league’s 700- plus players should have a say in whether the embattled Saskin remains at his post. Hull said he’s also surprised that more players don’t want to start fresh by looking outside the players’ union for a replacement for Bob Goodenow, who sources say was fired two months ago by union president Trevor Linden.

“ It’s crazy that we’d fire Bob and want to hire his right- hand man,” Hull said. “ It’s like firing the Lone Ranger and hiring Tonto.” Hull said Saskin’s actions wouldn’t be tolerated in any other industry.

“Just because we’re hockey players, you can’t just shove this down our throats,” Hull said. “ If someone did things this way at the United Auto Workers, they’d be lynched. The union should be talking to all of us about this, not just the player reps.”

Saskin replaced Goodenow, who officially resigned on July 28 after a new collective labour contract — which is widely viewed as favouring the owners — was signed to end the 301- day lockout.

Several players also claimed yesterday that the NHLPA hadn’t been up front about events during an Aug. 31 conference call. On that call, the union’s executive board ratified Saskin’s hiring by a 31- 6 vote, the union said. But since then, some players have questioned whether the vote tabulation was accurate, since several player reps weren’t on the call. The six players who voted against Saskin were Trent Klatt, Arturs Irbe, Bryan McCabe, Brendan Witt, Dwayne Roloson and Mark Parrish. The NHLPA said yesterday that some voting on the call was done by proxy — where players allow another executive board member to vote in their place — but declined to elaborate on the alleged voting improprieties.