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Old 02-25-2016, 01:26 PM   #452
taxbuster
#1 Goaltender
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Gary took his time - not because he wanted to get the Wideman decision right - but because he wanted to attempt to protect the League's position for the upcoming lawsuit around concussions with former players.

Among other things, if players can "say they're OK" and go out and play anyway (even possibly over the objections of the training staff, as Wideman was alleged to have done) what part does the NHL play in liability arising from that? His answer would be at best a negligible part.

This decision, in and of itself, is relatively irrelevant to him - yes, if he can win he wants to; if he loses, he shrugs his shoulders at the NHLOA and says "Well, what can I do? It was overruled." Neither of those positions hurts him. The ONLY one that does is where he compounds the concussion issue by a statement in this case that then gets used against him.

Arguably, the position he took wrt the possibility (likelihood?) that Wideman was concussed but he still knew what he was doing, will cause him some problems.

Bettman had much bigger fish to fry than Wideman.

*If* the hearings in fact take two days with the Arbitrator, I wouldn't expect a decision on Monday. Depends on whether the Arb wants to look at facts or at rules. A finding of fact is probably quicker than a finding which needs to interpret rules.
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