Post by Declan on Sept 5, 2009 15:19:11 GMT -5
The Dispatch caught up with former Blue Jackets center Manny Malhotra on the loading dock of Nationwide Arena on Friday, ending a summer-long pursuit.
Malhotra was asked about a wide range of issues, from serving as a player representative to the NHLPA, to being replaced on the Blue Jackets roster by Sammy Pahlsson, and his plans for the 2009-10 season.
Here's what he said:
Question: The NHLPA is taking lots of heat in the wake of Paul Kelly's firing. Is that fair or unfair?
Answer: It's justifiable, yeah. Over the long series of meetings, we realized the public perception we would be creating. But we also realized that, right now, it's more important for us to get our business in order than to have a great public image.
Q: Was it strange representing the Blue Jackets when you're not under contract with them, and not likely to return?
A: No, it's just that's the terms of the position. Regardless, you're the representative until there's a new representative. There's quite a few teams in that position.
Q: Have you informed the rest of the Blue Jackets players of what has gone on?
A: Not entirely. We'll sit down as a group when all the guys are in town, probably in the next few days. I've talked to guys individually, and answered some of their questions. But we'll get more into when the whole group is back.
Q: There have been reports of Kelly reading minutes from a private meeting involving the players, and suggestions that he was too cozy with the NHL, that he was not kind enough to people in the NHLPA or close enough to the players. Why he was fired? Is any of this true?
A: There are a lot of things that went on within the office -- things I can't get into right now -- and stuff that we deemed was not acceptable to the board, I guess.
Q: Why is it so hard to get an executive director who can please the group? Why is there such turmoil at the top?
A: The biggest issue is, when you represent that many guys, there are going to be many different opinions, lots of different trains of thought. If anything it might be a difficult position to be put in. We're taking a lot of steps, a lot of measures to make sure that the next person is the absolute perfect choice for the job.
Q: Many believe that this move makes labor strife much more certain when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2010-11 or 2011-12 season. Your thoughts on that?
A: Oh, no. We haven't talked about that. We realize the important of proper communication and not allowing it to get to the point of last time, the lockout. We do have a game plan in place as far as how we'll avoid that. Ultimately, nobody wants it to come to that, but we realize the importance of avoiding that. The game can't handle that.
Q: Is the NHLPA now more militant at the top?
A: I don't think it's an issue of being more militant or more liberal. I think it's that the entire gameplan is not going to be one sided. We realize that there has to be a lot of balance in our approach.
Q: So you didn't think Kelly was too friendly with the NHL?
A: I really can't comment on their relationship. I don't know where that perception (that we thought Kelly was too friendly with the NHL) is coming from.
Q: You're still without a contract, an unrestricted free agent. What's the outlook for you heading into 2009-10?
A: I'm like a lot of guys around the league, waiting for that right opportunity. It's frustrating, obviously. We'd like to be settled. We'd like to know where we're going to be at this point, but there's no sense rushing into situations.
Q: Do you have offers on the table right now?
A: There's a lot of things that have to take place. Other moves that have to go down before they open up.
Q: Any regrets about not signing here when the Blue Jackets were talking to you in late June, before free agency?
A: We stressed over and over the fact that we wanted to be here. There were a lot of issues: that we were part of the community, that we had friends outside the game, that I knew my role in the dressing room and on the ice. Those things ... I don't know how many times I said I wanted to be here. That part about it is frustrating. But on the hand, I understand that it's a business. They didn't see me as part of the puzzle moving forward, so that's something they had to do.
Q: Tough to see them pay a checking-line center, like Sammy Pahlsson, and give him more money (three years, $7.95 million) than you were asking for?
A: Yeah, it is. We wanted to be here. And then they go sign somebody for more than we were asking. That part is frustrating. I understand the business side of things. They're putting a team together, and they didn't see me as part of that puzzle. There's no regrets, no hard feelings. That's (GM Scott Howson's) job, to put a good puzzle together.
blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2009/09/malhotra_speaks.shtml