Is anyone else sick of seeing Don Fehr's mugshot or file photo? Hey, if I am an NHL player -just like back in the good old days of baseball labor unrest when he was every pitcher and catcher's best friend- I would want Fehr on my side. But for anyone else, Fehr is the epitome of doom. He's Dr. No; he's Dr. Evil; he's Dr. Moreau; he's Dr. Frankenstein; he's Dr. Death. You want to avoid this Donald even more then Trump crashing the Obama's family reunion party.
May I submit: Fear Fehr.
Give the man credit: he's good at what he does and that's give a collective "up yours" to the establishment when he's fighting for players' rights. But he's only visible in times of dissension and by now desperation. Until Fehr is no longer trending on Google or Twitter, get used to this:
The above photo -is he ever in a good mood?- and story from the Denver Post in July, 2010, when a lockout was just a twinkle in Commissioner Gary Bettman's eye, long before he and his fellow owners devoured each other, and before this pregnancy was even showing right after the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup in June and the lockout seemed poised to be a healthy and bouncing baby:
"Charming looking fella isn’t he? That’s Donald Fehr... and in case you didn’t know, the man who led the baseball players union for 26 years and a couple of work stoppages, including the one that led to the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. Fehr left the MLBPA last year, but he could become the next director of the NHLPA as soon as Wednesday."
You could just envision the 2010 version of Donny Negotiator in mad scientist mode, plotting his next conquest and creating his own line of Bettman voodoo dolls ready to stab. And I'll say this: I have no horse in this race. As far as I'm concerned by now the owners and players are equally guilty of managing to euthanize yet another hockey season. If this happens again and a cancellation is imminent, the NHL may as well hire Heather Graham to co-star with Bettman in Gary's Reasons Why Not.
It's pretty clear based on Fehr's uncanny ability to fight for his clients while agitating everyone else -again, there may not a human being on the planet better serving the players- finding the matching key to open the door on this lockout is looking less likely; even after what you'd hope were productive extended meetings between both sides this week, a compromise doesn't look promising. Instead, Fehr wrote this letter to the players, suggesting "there are bridges to be crossed before an agreement can be made."
Whenever Don Fehr is driving, the bridge is not easy to traverse.
May I submit: Fear Fehr.
Give the man credit: he's good at what he does and that's give a collective "up yours" to the establishment when he's fighting for players' rights. But he's only visible in times of dissension and by now desperation. Until Fehr is no longer trending on Google or Twitter, get used to this:
The above photo -is he ever in a good mood?- and story from the Denver Post in July, 2010, when a lockout was just a twinkle in Commissioner Gary Bettman's eye, long before he and his fellow owners devoured each other, and before this pregnancy was even showing right after the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup in June and the lockout seemed poised to be a healthy and bouncing baby:
"Charming looking fella isn’t he? That’s Donald Fehr... and in case you didn’t know, the man who led the baseball players union for 26 years and a couple of work stoppages, including the one that led to the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. Fehr left the MLBPA last year, but he could become the next director of the NHLPA as soon as Wednesday."
You could just envision the 2010 version of Donny Negotiator in mad scientist mode, plotting his next conquest and creating his own line of Bettman voodoo dolls ready to stab. And I'll say this: I have no horse in this race. As far as I'm concerned by now the owners and players are equally guilty of managing to euthanize yet another hockey season. If this happens again and a cancellation is imminent, the NHL may as well hire Heather Graham to co-star with Bettman in Gary's Reasons Why Not.
It's pretty clear based on Fehr's uncanny ability to fight for his clients while agitating everyone else -again, there may not a human being on the planet better serving the players- finding the matching key to open the door on this lockout is looking less likely; even after what you'd hope were productive extended meetings between both sides this week, a compromise doesn't look promising. Instead, Fehr wrote this letter to the players, suggesting "there are bridges to be crossed before an agreement can be made."
Whenever Don Fehr is driving, the bridge is not easy to traverse.
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