From the Toronto Star’s Rick Westhead.
The beleaguered NHL players union has scheduled an emergency conference call for Sunday night to confirm to some of the league™s senior players that top union executives have been inappropriately accessing player email accounts.
The 700-member NHL Players™ Association has been embroiled in controversy this week after the Star reported Monday that the Toronto Police Service had opened an investigation into player and union staff member complaints that executive director Ted Saskin (above) and union official Ken Kim have been surreptitiously viewing emails sent and received by players who oppose Saskin™s hiring.
In a compelling and surprising twist, neither Saskin nor Kim are expected to be on the conference call on Sunday. Two sources familiar with the union™s plans said that Stu Grimson, a former NHL player who now works as a lawyer for the Toronto-based union, will participate in the call and confirm to the league™s 30 team player representatives that personal player email accounts have been routinely compromised.
Players are also expected to discuss firing Saskin and Kim, a source told the Star, although that would likely generate wrongful dismissal lawsuits. œThe players will have to make a decision on what they want to do, the source said. œIt™s not going to be an easy decision.
Saskin and Kim allegedly accessed player email accounts hosted by the union to get a better understanding of how their rivals within the union were plotting against them. Police have not yet decided whether to lay charges.