Goodenow Takes the Fall for the NHL's New Labor Deal

The man who made hockey players rich has been shown the door. Bob Goodenow resigned yesterday as head of the NHL PLayers' Association.

"This decision followed discussions between Goodenow and members of the executive committee about the organization's future," said a statement at the NHLPA website.

Goodenow ran the NHLPA for 15 years, during which the average NHL salary climbed from $271,000 US to $1.83 million. But his last year was not his best, as the players ultimately abandoned Goodenow's hardline stance and caved on almost every essential issue to end the 2004-05 lockout.

Vincent Damphousse, a veteran NHL forward and member of the Players' executive committee, admits that the new collective agreement is not a Goodenow deal. "To say Bob wasn't totally in favour of it at that time, that's certainly a true statement, but he understood where the committee wanted to take this and went along with it," Damphousse told the Canadian Press.

Goodenow's second-in-command, Ted Saskin, takes over the top job.