Salcer’s Push Started Eagleson’s Fall

Former NHL Players Assn. boss Alan Eagleson, serving 18 months in jail after pleading guilty to three counts of fraud, was disbarred last week by Canadian authorities.

“What took them so long?� Ron Salcer asked.

Good question. More than 15 years ago, Salcer, an agent in Manhattan Beach, fellow agent Rich Winter and Ed Garvey, former director of the NFL Players Assn., began examining Eagleson’s dealings and initiated the investigation that brought him down. After Eagleson was sentenced a few weeks ago, Salcer pulled out old files and retraced Eagleson’s trail of deceit.

“My blood was all over those papers,� Salcer said. “It took a toll on me professionally and personally. This was a man who was more powerful than the prime minister in Canada. He dealt by intimidation and fear.�

Salcer became an agent in the early 1980s after meeting and befriending several King players in his apartment complex. He was stunned to learn how paltry players’ salaries, pensions and medical benefits were. Determined to learn why, he attended an NHLPA meeting in Las Vegas but was ejected by Sam Simpson, Eagleson’s right-hand man.

Told that no agents were allowed, Salcer pointed to Eagleson--who represented many prominent players--and asked, “Isn’t he an agent?� He was told Eagleson was different.

“That’s when the seed was planted,� Salcer said. “Over the next six or seven years, I realized I wasn’t getting the support I needed to do the best job I could for my players. I’d call Eagleson and ask to speak to him and the answer was, ‘He’s in Europe doing something for international hockey.’

“I was hearing horror story after horror story. I watched players’ salaries go up maybe 5% every year and we never knew who was making what. They’d say eight guys were making X amount and 72 were making the median, but nobody knew who was making what. . . .

“Alan Eagleson said to players, ‘You’re making more money than your parents. Don’t rock the boat.’ I felt if I was going to continue as an agent, there would have to be dramatic changes.�

The big money stayed in owners’ pockets because Eagleson made sweetheart deals with pals John Ziegler, the NHL’s president, and Chicago Blackhawk owner Bill Wirtz, chairman of the league’s board of governors. Eagleson suppressed salaries by giving up free agency in labor agreements and by advocating a merger of the World Hockey Assn. and the NHL, ending bidding that had driven salaries up.

In the meantime, he made huge profits from deals to run tournaments, such as the Canada Cup, deals he never disclosed to players.

Salcer made the rounds of NHL teams to alert players about Eagleson’s double-dealing. It wasn’t easy. He recalls Bruin General Manager Harry Sinden threatened him with a police escort out of Boston Garden, but Coach Terry O’Reilly spared him by pretending not to see him. Slowly, Salcer, Winter and Garvey gathered support and built a case they planned to present to players at an NHLPA meeting in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1989.

Eagleson refused to let Salcer speak, but players, led by Marty McSorley, insisted Salcer be allowed to address the group. Evidence of Eagleson’s wrongdoing, which included diverting money from dasher-board advertising and improperly lending NHLPA pension money to friends, was overwhelming. Players voted to oust Eagleson but the NHLPA executive committee--stacked with Eagleson cronies--overturned the vote. Still, it was the turning point.

“That was the beginning of the destruction of Alan Eagleson,� Salcer said.

Salcer, Winter and Garvey compiled a 55-page report, which served as the basis for an eye-opening series on Eagleson written by Russ Conway in the Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune. The series alerted U.S. legal authorities to Eagleson’s deeds and eventually got Canadian authorities involved.

Much has changed since Eagleson stepped down in 1992 and was succeeded by Bob Goodenow. Agents can no longer represent players and coaches or club executives, players’ salaries have skyrocketed, their pension fund is well endowed by events such as the World Cup and they are kept informed about NHLPA finances. Salcer is reluctant to take credit for Eagleson’s downfall and its fallout. He’s simply glad players are finally getting what they have earned.

“I didn’t do it because of any personal animosity,� Salcer said. “He damaged a lot of people’s lives. For me, the satisfaction is, the story is out and he’s on the front page of every newspaper in Canada as a criminal.

“I think he started out with good intentions. He started the association and he united players but he just got too powerful and too greedy.�

PENGUINS CAN PLAY DEFENSE

Life after Mario Lemieux’s retirement hasn’t been as bad as the Pittsburgh Penguins anticipated. Coach Kevin Constantine has them playing solid defense without sacrificing offense, and they’re jockeying with Montreal for the Northeast Division lead.

Even Constantine acknowledged he’s surprised how quickly his team adapted to its new system.

“You never really know what to expect,� he said. “You go in with a plan and hope for the best. I don’t worry too much about expectations.

“The guy who sold it to the team is Ron Francis. He’s a seasoned pro and when he shows up at the rink every day and applies himself to the job at hand, it’s pretty hard for other people to not also work hard.�

POWERLESS PANTHERS

The Florida Panthers’ feisty defensive game, which carried them to the Stanley Cup finals in 1996, has disintegrated into chaos.

After clearing out veterans to play youngsters, then going back to veterans when the kids failed, the Panthers are 0-5-5, their longest winless streak ever. They rank near the bottom of the league defensively, a shocking fall.

“I don’t know what to say anymore. I’ve run out of words,� left wing Bill Lindsay said. “It’s right on the line now. We’re at about the breaking point now. Either we go one way or the other.�

Said defenseman Ed Jovanovski: “Every team goes through something like this to an extent, but this is carrying on a bit too far. We’ve got to settle down. We’re a team that was established to be a good defensive team, and that’s the most frustrating thing.�

STARS IN YOUR EYES

Matching North American players against stars from the rest of the world worked so well in this season’s All-Star game, why not use that format in every Olympic year?

In other years, King play-by-play announcer Nick Nickson suggests, three other formats can be rotated: The year after the Olympics, the gold medal-winning team would play an NHL All-Star team. The next year, Eastern All-Stars would face Western All-Stars, and in the third year, the defending Stanley Cup champion would face a team of stars from the rest of the league--a format used from 1947-1968. Fans could still vote for at least one team each season.

Good idea. Commissioner Gary Bettman, please take note.

SLAP SHOTS

Hot rumor: the Edmonton Oilers will be sold and moved to Nashville and expansion will be postponed a year to create a team in Houston. Unlikely, but not impossible. . . . Ted Lindsay joined Brad Park in saying he will withdraw from the hockey Hall of Fame if Eagleson isn’t thrown out. The hall’s board of directors is scheduled to meet March 31. . . . Washington defenseman Calle Johansson was appointed captain of the Swedish Olympic team.

Flyer Coach Wayne Cashman separated Eric Lindros and John LeClair, and the move has worked well. Lindros is centering for Rod Brind’Amour and Trent Klatt, and LeClair plays with Chris Gratton and Alexandre Daigle. . . . Puzzled by his poor play, Toronto goalie Felix Potvin used the All-Star break to review tapes of his best games. His next two games were shutouts and he’s 3-1. Now, he’s not staying so far back in the net and is positioning himself more squarely to shooters.

The Maple Leafs talked to the Canucks about Trevor Linden. He will be moved soon, now that Coach Mike Keenan has been given general manager powers, without the title. . . . In European soccer, low-placed teams are demoted to lower divisions the next season. With that in mind, the NHL should consider relegating the Tampa Bay Lightning to the International Hockey League.