Ted Saskin

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Ted Saskin is the current NHL Players Association executive director. He assumed the title after Bob Goodenow resigned on July 28, 2005.

Saskin had previously served as NHLPA Senior Director of Business Affairs and Licensing since 1992, as one of Goodenow's new deputies when the latter assumed the role of executive director.

Saskin was credited with taking a more conciliatory approach to collective bargaining agreement negotiations, which ended the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Though widely seen as the heir-apparent to Goodenow and initially touted as a successor due to his knowledge of the CBA, Saskin's hiring has come under scrutiny from some players who contend that he was improperly elected and misrepresented salary figures during negotiations with players union president Trevor Linden, a forward with the Vancouver Canucks.^[1]

On October 2, 2006, a group of NHL players, led by Chris Chelios filed a lawsuit in US Federal Court to remove Saskin and also millions of dollars in damages and punitive damages.^[2]

That lawsuit was dismissed by a judge who ruled that because the NHLPA is based in Toronto, Ontario, that is the appropriate venue for the case. Nevertheless, Saskin's tenure at the union remains tenuous after a report in the Toronto Star that Saskin and other union executives inappropriately accessed the private email accounts of players and agents who have challenged his hiring. ^[3]

As of March 11, 2007, Saskin is on a paid leave of absence from his position as NHLPA executive director. ^[4]