Galley doesn't expect a sympathetic reaction
Back in the fall of 1994, National Hockey League training camps opened on time, only to close down when the owners and the Players Association failed to reach a collective bargaining agreement. Ultimately, the season was shortened to 48 games. Back then, there was a different kind of unease, as well as a lack of experience with -- and preparedness for -- a work stoppage. Ten years later, another lockout appears inevitable. Former Bruins defenseman Garry Galley, who now hosts a sports talk show on an Ottawa radio station, Team 1200 AM, sees a stark difference between this labor strife and what he went through 10 years ago.
"I remember thinking things wouldn't take that long," said Galley, who played 1,149 NHL games with six clubs for 17 seasons from 1984-2001. "We went through the rigors of training camp, they delayed it a couple of times, and then all of a sudden, they send us home.
"The first couple of weeks, the question was, `Geez, how long is this going to last?' Nobody was forecasting years, like they are now. In '94, there was more negotiation, there was more hope it was going to get done. When it got to January, some people were panicking. Now they're more prepared."
Galley, whose show can be heard via the Internet, said the feedback he's received from fans is a mix of frustration, anger, and confusion.
"This is going to be a tough time because I don't think the issues are as important to the fans as they were then," he said. "Now, the issues [from the fans' perspective] are, the players make too much money so they're greedy, the owners were too stupid and you have to dummy-proof the whole system for them, and because of that now the fans are going to be ripped off of hockey.
"They cannot justify the players' money. They cannot see why the players have any problem with a [salary] cap when they're going to be making great money even with a cap. They don't understand why there's even going to be a work stoppage, and they don't understand how the owners could be so stupid, to be giving out the money they're giving out and not caring about fiscal responsibility.
"There's all kinds of stuff festering around with this one that wasn't with the last one. No one is going to side with the players. No matter how irresponsible the owners were, everyone is going to side against the players. People look at it compared to their own jobs, not as a sport."
As a former player, Galley said he's biased in favor of the union but respects commissioner Gary Bettman. He believes both sides are remiss in the way they've handled negotiations.
"I really think the NHL and the Players Association are making a very big mistake by having everything so black-and-white," he said. "They need to find some system where they can work together. Right now they're not working together. I think this time the fans are going to have a major issue here. People want to know why all these months have been wasted. It's a trust issue. Players don't trust the owners. I certainly respect that their jobs are not easy, but there are going to be casualties, and the fans are one of the casualties."
One factor the fans can't relate to, said Galley, is how short a pro athlete's career can be and how much of a toll it can take on your body.
"My hips are sore, my back is sore, and I can't jump on the trampoline with my kids," said Galley. "And I'm only 41. I see guys like Brad Park and Bobby Orr and they can hardly walk. There is some risk, and you don't know how long you're going to play for. I was very fortunate to play 17 years. Some guys just toil in the minors and never make it.
"Job insecurity is tough. People say, `How can they be insecure? Why aren't they taking a salary cap?' I think when it hits the fan, it's going to be very tough on the players. I can't believe any player would want to give up even one game. For a fan or anybody out there to think that missing games isn't going to affect them, they're wrong. Every game you miss is a game you're never going to get back.
"The game has turned into a business now, more of a business than ever."
Firestarter Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn, the bench boss for Team Canada in the World Cup, doesn't mince words with regard to evaluating players. By playing his cards close to the vest with regards to whether Joe Thornton would be in the lineup against Team USA last Tuesday, Quinn was trying to light a fire under Thornton, and he succeeded. The Bruins captain was terrific in that game, and against Slovakia the next night, playing against the opponents' top lines. "He might not be the best practice player in the world, but in the games I thought he was pretty good," said Quinn. "I wanted him in a role. I play him against their best, and I thought he was solid in both games. By being sound positionally and using his size, it's a big asset for him and should be for us as well." Ryan Smyth, Edmonton's leading scorer last season, was another forward Quinn wanted to see bear down. He had a pair of goals in Canada's win over Slovakia. "He's a guy that needs to have his work boots on," said Quinn. "Early on, maybe he was trying to be a little too fancy and a little too risky. There was some thought from our end to maybe not have him go. But he's been so reliable and I've seen him play big games in the last couple of years. That's why he got the nod -- because he does it when he has to do it." . . . Penguins owner/star Mario Lemieux is far better known for his scoring touch than his fisticuffs, but the 38-year-old didn't hesitate to jump into the fray during the Canada-USA matchup when he felt that Steve Konowalchuk ran Canada goalie Martin Brodeur. Konowalchuk got a kick out of the media's reaction to the dust-up. "It's kind of funny," he said. "I've never had this many reporters talk to me before. It was nothing. I guess Canada likes to make it out to be a big deal, but it was just one of those things where I was crashing the net trying to score a goal and he came in to help out his goalie. That's about it. It started with Brodeur pulling me in the net. So I gave him a little push." Quinn said he wasn't thrilled to see Lemieux scrapping, but at the same time, he felt it was the result of the officials not protecting Brodeur. "Ordinarily, you don't want Mario chasing somebody down," said Quinn. "We'd asked the officials to watch them running our goalie. It wasn't the first time. But after a while it became one of those things where vigilante-type hockey has to come in if it's not going to get looked after. You certainly don't want Mario to be the guy who has to do it, but at the end of the night, when our young guys spot our best player, our leader, step up in that situation, which is out of the ordinary, yes, you don't want to lose Mario, but he sent a big message to our guys that this is our team and we are together and we're not going to take this."
Trouble at home The recent hostage crisis in Russia has had an emotional impact on the members of that country's World Cup team. Bruins defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who spent the summer in St. Petersburg with his family, said, "I am not going to lie to you and say I am not thinking about it. It sits in the back of my mind. We're worried. Everyone is following it, and every morning when we wake up, we go to the TV to see what is going on." Rangers blue liner Darius Kasparaitis said terrorism "concerns everybody, not only people from Russia. Even my wife, who is Swedish, is concerned because it is sad seeing innocent people die, especially kids." . . . Sabres forward Chris Drury, who is playing for Team USA, tallied a career-low 18 goals with the Buffalo Sabres last season, but he's proving himself to be a valuable asset on a club that has seen more than its share of tumult the last couple of years. "We didn't get our ultimate goal, the playoffs, but after what those guys went through the year before with the bankruptcy and them trading away half the team for financial reasons, it's hard to say it was anything but a successful year," said the 28-year-old Drury. The Sabres finished with 85 points, 6 points out of a postseason berth . . . Defenseman John Michael Liles, who stepped in on Team USA when Bruins defenseman Hal Gill broke his foot, said he's having the time of his life playing with 42-year-old veteran Chris Chelios. Liles, 23, who plays for the Colorado Avalanche, is trying to soak up as much as possible. "It's a huge deal, especially if you're an American," said Liles. "My friends back at [Michigan State] who are from the US, they're all asking, `What's it like playing with Chelios?' It's awesome. He's one of the best defensemen in the league, and there's a reason for it. He's very cool and he always seems to make the right play, the smart play." . . . Ottawa defenseman Zdeno Chara said he hasn't made up his mind what he'll do if there is a lockout. "I'm going to go somewhere, I'm just not sure where right now," said Chara, who is playing for Slovakia in the World Cup. "We've gotten lots of calls from all kinds of places that are interested in having me. I'll probably go back to Ottawa for a couple of days once this is over, see where the talks stand, and then make some kind of decision." Chara's agent, Matt Keator, has talked to clubs in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Germany, and Sweden . . . Forty-one days until the Bruins' season doesn't start.
Material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.
