Player association finally Frost free
NHL player agents are breathing a sigh of relief with the news that David Frost is no longer one of them.
“ All I can say is thank God,’’ agent Paul O’Neill said yesterday.
“ He certainly has . . . put ( agents) in a bad light. All agents certainly aren’t like that,’’ said O’Neill, who represents son Jeff O’Neill of the Maple Leafs.
Frost represented Mike Danton, a former St. Louis Blues player currently serving 71⁄ 2years in a U. S. prison for trying to have Frost murdered.
Last week a CBC documentary on the fifth estate probed the strange relationship between Frost and Danton. The show prompted the NHLPA to consider a review of Frost’s certification, but yesterday Frost claimed neither that nor the show prompted him to resign.
“ There was really no need to stay on with the PA,” Frost told TSN. “Nobody pressured me out, believe me. If somebody tried to do that, I would have just stayed around out of spite.” The NHLPA released a statement yesterday.
“ Dave Frost has resigned as an NHLPA certified agent. The NHLPA will make no further comment on this matter,’’ said Ian Penny, NHLPA associate counsel.
Frost claims he approached then NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow and Penny last year in November, telling them he planned to resign. Goodenow ran the NHLPA when Frost was certified in 2002, and Goodenow’s son played on one of Frost’s minor hockey teams.
Frost says he was “sick and tired’’ of the media circus surrounding his relationship with Danton, which led to discussion with Goodenow and Penny. The only reason he stuck around until now, Frost says, was to finish a grievance Danton filed against his former team, the New Jersey Devils, during the 2001- 02 NHL season. At the time Danton was suspended without pay for failing to report to the Devils’ affiliate in Albany. Danton claims an abdominal injury prevented him from going, and he wants the money back.
“ I’ve been assured by the NHLPA that once the grievance comes up I’ll be able to step in and speak on Mike’s behalf, which is critical because I have all the information from that side,’’ said Frost, adding he received those assurances from the association when he confirmed his resignation last week.