''The hypocrisy of it is unbelievable''

Tired of waiting on NHL negotiations, three Detroit Red Wings have signed with the Motor City Mechanics of the United Hockey League. Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher and Kris Draper join a league with a weekly salary cap of $10,000 per team.

"Whatever the coach tells us to do, we're going to buy into the team'" said Draper. "Just because we're in the NHL, we're not above anything."

The all-time leading scorer in minor pro hockey is not impressed.

"The hypocrisy of it is unbelievable," Kevin Kerr of the Flint Generals told the Detroit Free Press. "They don't want a salary cap, but they'll come to a league that has a salary cap and take someone else's job."

"I make $700 a week, and I have a wife and two kids and a mortgage payment. Here I wish I could play in the NHL for a fraction of what they make, and here they're going to come play in our league for $500 a week. It's really bizarre."

But Kerr says he won't act on his grudge when he takes to the ice against NHL Players.

"I'm 38. I'm 5-foot-10, 190 pounds. What am I going to do against Derian Hatcher?"

Some will applaud Kerr for sticking up for the little guy. Others will dismiss him as a hockey bum who should go find a real job. A few NHL veterans have defended their moonlighting ways by pointing out that hockey players compete for jobs all the time, and this situation is no different.

But however you see it, this is another NHL lockout story in which nobody comes out looking good. Chelios, Hatcher and Draper will be skipping the long road trips, playing only home games and road games that are very close to home. So much for "buying into the team."