Viestin lähetti Viva Torremolinos
"tämä on miehen pitkän, mutta suurelle yleisölle näkymättömän taistelun viimeinen yritys saada NHL kausi alkamaan vielä tänä keväänä."
Mitäs kaikkea tuo sitten on tehnyt?
Niin, ei tietenkään mitään millä NHL olisi käynnistynyt. Mutta kokeneena, järkevänä ja huipputasoisena johtajana Lindenilla on ollut varmasti suuri rooli pelaajien keskuudessa. Pelaaja-agentti Don Meehan ja ex-Manageri Brian Burke kertoivat tästä koko episodista ajatuksiaan Vancouver Sunissa (kirjoittajana Iain McIntyre) seuraavasti;
"He is known as a player who wants to do the right thing," agent Don Meehan said Tuesday. "That's the way he was raised. He has the ability to convey that to anybody he deals with. He has a presence about him that goes beyond this [dispute]."
After NHL Players' Association executive director Bob Goodenow encouraged members Friday to seek employment elsewhere and prepare for another year without an NHL paycheque, Linden, the union president, spurred the resumption of contract talks unencumbered by the presence of either Goodenow or NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Linden, NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin and outside counsel John McCambridge meet today in Chicago with Calgary Flames owner and board-of-governors' chairman Harley Hotchkiss, NHL executive vice-president Bill Daly and outside counsel Bob Batterman.
The three-on-three meeting will be the first between the sides since owners rejected on Dec. 14 a union proposal that included a 24-per-cent wage cut and other concessions.
Bettman has been unwavering in his demand for a hard salary cap, something Goodenow emphatically rejects.
"I don't think there's any doubt about the resolve in both sides," Meehan said in Vancouver, where he will attend tonight's Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects Game.
"When you get into labour negotiations like this, often it's this kind of initiative that breaks the logjam. I think this meeting will be a blessing."
Linden did not return calls Tuesday from The Vancouver Sun, but told the Canadian Press on Monday: "It's important. It's a necessary step. I wasn't prepared to wait for a phone call [from the league]. There's no harm that can come from this."
Meehan said Linden, despite his union position, has the respect of owners.
"He's the kind of individual who's not going to be looked at by the other side in a cynical way," Meehan said.
"I know all the people involved. They know the game and they know Trevor. Better still, they understand his principles and they recognize he's trying to do the right thing, as opposed to taking a contrived position, trying to outmanoeuvre somebody. That's not what Trevor's all about.
"I've known Trevor since he was 16 years of age. His intention is really for the good of the game."
Former Canucks general manager Brian Burke, instrumental in negotiating the 1994 collective bargaining agreement on behalf of owners, agreed Linden is respected by both sides.
"As far as character goes, he's a wonderful human being," Burke said. "But make no mistake about it: he's a passionate [union] member. As far as getting the sides to meet, he does have credibility."