Flames make ankle guards mandatory - CBA violation?

[Canada 02]

Flames general manager Jay Feaster instructed his players get fitted for the guards after Calgary captain Mark Giordano suffered a broken ankle and veteran forward Lee Stempniak broke his foot after being hit by pucks last month.

However, Feaster says this is a mandatory team policy which may create a problem as such a policy could be viewed as a CBA violation.

"No team can unilaterally make a piece of equipment mandatory," Mathieu Schneider, Special Assistant to NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr, told the Dreger Report.

All Flames players are complying with management's policy and are currently wearing some form of additional foot protection.

http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/darren_dreger/?id=435925

[CMPunk]

Isn't Toronto already doing this? Smart idea if you ask me

[browna]

Semantics, I think it can be suggested, strongly even. But Feaster calling it club policy may not fly.

[GGG]

I think this is a good thing, force the PA to appeal it. At a minimum it will generate discussion. The other mandatory item should be the kevlar socks.

Also the club policy might only that you be fitted for ankle guards. Feaster never said that they had to wear them (although I didn't read the article just the quotes provided)

[3thirty]

Originally Posted by CMPunk

Isn't Toronto already doing this? Smart idea if you ask me

Toronto is doing it in practice only IIRC.

[CMPunk]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

Toronto is doing it in practice only IIRC.

I thought they were talking about it the other night during one of the games...I just figured it was all the time, not just practice.

[OutOfTheCube]

Well, we all know Feaster didn't read the CBA that closely...

[Fusebox]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Well, we all know Feaster didn't read the CBA that closely...

Exactly. This is the idiot who offered Brad Richards a max deal and then almost threw away out future with the faulty offer sheet to Ryan O'Reilly.

[nik-]

Normal Unions: Fight for money and a safe workplace

Sports Unions: Fight for money and how dare you try to implement a safer work environment.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by Fusebox

Exactly. This is the idiot who offered Brad Richards a max deal and then almost threw away out future with the faulty offer sheet to Ryan O'Reilly.

Blargh gah rage agh

[TurnedTheCorner]

Unions

[Red Ice Player]

Came into thread to see troll trash Feaster at first opportunity. Left satisfied.

[Lanny'sDaMan]

nvm wrong thread

[morgin]

As someone who supported Feaster quite a bit on here during the last public CBA interaction he had, I will say it's disappointing that this made it to the news and has evidently been handled how they are handling it. This should have remained an internal team issue, and knowing they cant unilaterally impose rules in violation of the CBA, they should have worked behind the scenes to implement the recommendation to the players and keep the NHLPA in the loop.

The optics are bad that once again it looks like the Flames are going ahead and doing things without knowing the rules. It's always more complicated, but it really doesn't need to be out in public for everyone to comment on.

[Where ru Chris O'Sullivan]

Originally Posted by nik-

Normal Unions: Fight for money and a safe workplace

Sports Unions: Fight for money and how dare you try to implement a safer work environment.

All unions fight sudden knee jerk reactions that could entail problems in the future. See supersized shoulder pads....shoulders were saved at the expense of another's face being destroyed along the boards.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

Unions

[Flames in 07]

Maybe one day Feaster could get around to actually reading the CBA.

It's one thing for a middle manager to not be fluent the environment he / she is in, but for a GM, who manages something as expensive as a NHL payroll, and is a leader of everyone on the hockey ops side to not understand the CBA that governs his life fluently is simply embarrassing. He's simply not qualified to have a job with this level of responsibility.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Where ru Chris O'Sullivan

All unions fight sudden knee jerk reactions that could entail problems in the future. See supersized shoulder pads....shoulders were saved at the expense of another's face being destroyed along the boards.

Adding extra protection to the feet is a sudden knee jerk reaction?

[morgin]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

Maybe one day Feaster could get around to actually reading the CBA.

It's one thing for a middle manager to not be fluent the environment he / she is in, but for a GM, who manages something as expensive as a NHL payroll, and is a leader of everyone on the hockey ops side to not understand the CBA that governs his life fluently is simply embarrassing. He's simply not qualified to have a job with this level of responsibility.

I'd be willing to bet a lot of money on the fact he and everyone else in management knew it was kind of offside the rules but they really don't give a #### and it's a fight they are willing to have.

What I don't understand is why they seem ok being public about it. Most other NHL business is happily conducted behind closed doors so these stories that come out and make them look bad don't even need to exist. Fight it out of the public eye and don't position yourself against the NHLPA in the media. I cannot fathom how that helps their negotiations on it.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by morgin

I'd be willing to bet a lot of money on the fact he and everyone else in management knew it was kind of offside the rules but they really don't give a #### and it's a fight they are willing to have.

What I don't understand is why they seem ok being public about it. Most other NHL business is happily conducted behind closed doors so these stories that come out and make them look bad don't even need to exist. Fight it out of the public eye and don't position yourself against the NHLPA in the media. I cannot fathom how that helps their negotiations on it.

Why are you so confident in that bet?

As for being public about it, that's one thing I liked about Sutter, everything was done in-house with very few leaks. Feaster likes to brag about every idea he comes up with, almost to validate that he belongs.