Bruins Locker Room Hates Andrew Ference?

"Andrew Ference wasn't so forthcoming about the firing of NHLPA boss Paul Kelly, which may have caused a rift between him and his teammates. Ference didn't want to be reconsidered to be the player rep again this year, letting Mark Stuart run unopposed, the Boston Globe reports (ESPN)."

The firing of Paul Kelly has pissed off a lot of people. There are a lot of shady things that went on around the firing (like a midnight vote to get rid of him). Anyways, I don't think this will affect much since Ference stepped down. In his eyes he is probably just happy he doesn't have to deal with that shit anymore...

NHLPA Fires Paul Kelly

This could be really bad news for the NHL...

"Paul Kelly is out as executive director of the NHL Players Association. The union announced at its annual meeting Monday that its executive board voted "overwhelmingly" to remove Kelly. The executive board is made up of one player from each of the 30 teams. Kelly held the job for less than two years. The NHLPA didn't give a reason, saying that after a review of the "overall operation of the NHLPA, it was decided that Paul Kelly should no longer continue to serve as executive director." The union said it would immediately form a committee to find a replacement (Sportsline)."

At first when I read this I thought maybe Kelly really fucked up (he is a Needham guy), but as I have read more sites it sounds like this could be a much larger problem. There are rumors going around now that the NHLPA is going to dig in their heels and really fight for a better bargaining agreement (which is coming up soon). This could lead to another lockout, so keep an eye on who they pick to replace and what that means for the next bargaining agreement...