NEW YORK (CP) - Flyers GM Bob Clarke has slammed Bob Goodenow on the eve of important meetings on both sides of the NHL's labour mess, saying the union chief doesn't care about the game.
And Clarke says Goodenow needs to look after the Canadian face of the NHL.
"We don't want Calgary to move, we don't want Edmonton to move," Clarke told The Canadian Press on Monday. "And even personally, I was sick when Quebec and Winnipeg moved. Someone has to grab Goodenow by the throat and tell him: `Look after the Canadian cities, the majority of the players still come from Canada.' It's our sport and to me Goodenow has shown no interest in helping build the game and helping sell the game.
"He's done nothing but take from the game," added Clarke. "And now he's fighting for power. He doesn't want to lose power, he doesn't want to lose his control over the players. And he doesn't want to lose as much of the control he's had over the game over the last 10-12 years. But when he had that power, he ruined it."
Goodenow responded by saying Clarke had no idea what he was talking about.
"If Bob had been present in these negotiations, as he was in the past, he would have some understanding of the actual issues involved," the executive director of the NHL Players' Association told The Canadian Press in an e-mail. "I encourage him to attend in the future, if he is allowed to do so by the league.
"Regarding my concern for the game, Bob's comments are way off base," continued Goodenow. "As Bob well knows, Gary Bettman and his owners group have been firmly in control. They have made every decision about expansion, franchise moves, playing rules, officiating, and marketing, while rejecting all input from players."
Clarke was speaking from Philadelphia before making his way to New York for Tuesday's 12:30 p.m. EST board of governors meeting at the Westin Times Square in Manhattan, the same hotel where commissioner Bettman announced the cancellation of the season Feb. 16.
Goodenow and more than 150 players have their own meeting, Tuesday in Toronto, following a Monday night dinner. Player agents are also due to meet with NHLPA brass Wednesday in Toronto.
''I think a lot of us really want to know what really went down the last week, especially with that meeting with Wayne and Mario,'' New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur said Monday. ''There are questions that need to be asked and need to be answered.''
As New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello and Pittsburgh Penguins player/owner Mario Lemieux said on the weekend, getting a deal done as soon as possible is paramount, according to Clarke.
"If we don't get a CBA and don't have a draft and can't get selling tickets, selling to sponsors for next year, it's going to hurt a lot more," Clarke said. "And there's going to be a lot less for the players, which in turn is going to hurt a lot more. If we can get something done I think we have a chance to rebound and be OK.
"But it has to be at least in time to have a draft, so we can sell tickets and get to our sponsors. I mean, it's not going to be that long before the sponsors' money goes somewhere else. That would hurt the game, the individual teams, but the players even more because there would be less for them."