Kelly's firing the wrong move?

The decision made, Paul Kelly was officially dismissed as NHLPA executive Director at 3:30 this morning. According to the official press release the board overwhelmingly voted to relieve Kelly of his duties due to what is being reported by TSN “Whispers of unhappiness with Kelly's distance with some players and perception Kelly may have been too close to the NHL commissioners office.” With that weak excuse the NHLPA will have a lot to answer to today when or if they address the media.

Kelly who took over the job in 2007 has had the support of many media and blogger personalities From Tsn and the The Hockey News to Puck Daddy and HockeyBuzz’s Dee Karl. Now all of them are asking what’s next? Who will take Kelly’s place? And why was fired in the first place? Many have now started speculating what the aftermath could be and several have even mentioned another work stoppage in the near future. Although the thoughts are a tad radical they are not out of the question, but in any event this situation does not bode well for the fans or the league. The league, more notable the players take a major PR hit for their more or less shocking news to let Kelly go and have instantly taken a beating left and right for firing what seems to have been a qualified labor lawyer doing a good job of watching out for his players but also managing to work with the NHL cooperatively. Looking at the other side of the spectrum, the fans now have to watch and wait to see who is appointed the new Executive Director and how he will operate with the league, owners and players and if this will have in any way an impact on how the game is played and even another possible work stoppage (which would be a major hit to the league possible alienating their fans once again.) So in short this mess NEEDS to be addressed, and fixed as quickly as possible so no permanent damage is done.