NHLPA creates committees to examine constitution, search for new boss

TORONTO - The NHL Players' Association is preparing to launch a search for a new executive director while examining its own constitution, and outgoing Major League Baseball Players Association head Donald Fehr will help on both fronts.

The NHLPA's executive board, made up of one player representative from each of the 30 teams, has voted to establish a pair of committees, one to handle each issue.

Up to five yet-to-be determined union members will be responsible for the search to find a successor to the fired Paul Kelly. The selection process for that committee is underway and will be named shortly, according to the union.

Steve Montador of the Buffalo Sabres, Dominic Moore of the Florida Panthers, Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins and Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars will serve on the constitution committee. Its recommendations will be reported back to the executive board.

Fehr, who has helped the MLBPA become the strongest union in North American sports, offered his help to members of both committees and was unanimously approved by the NHLPA.

"You have an organization of professional athletes who are in a period in which they can use some help, and if I can be of some assistance to them in the process, given the long experience I've had, I'd like to try and do it," Fehr said.

"I didn't represent professional athletes for 32 years because I thought that was not the thing I wanted to do. Hopefully, I'll be able to give them some assistance which will make this task a little easier for them."

The baseball union's executive board is expected to approve union general counsel Michael Weiner to succeed Fehr next month.

The two NHLPA committees will work concurrently with and have access to information from the recently formed NHLPA review committee, which was looking into the union's operations.

-With files from The Associated Press.