NHLPA: The More Things Change, The More They Get Sued

Some of the dissenting members of the NHLPA have filed a lawsuit to have Ted Saskin removed as head of the Union. From the Toronto Star:

In a 21-page statement of claim filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Detroit Red Wings defenceman Chris Chelios, Edmonton Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson and recently retired Los Angeles Kings forward Trent Klatt allege that Saskin and others conspired to illegally dismiss former union chief Bob Goodenow and inappropriately paid him $8 million (U.S.) in severance.

Chelios, Roloson and Klatt also allege that Saskin was illegally hired as executive director of the union in July 2005 and that since then, he has illegally used union funds to battle his adversaries within the union.

Those are some huge allegations (even bigger considering the past of the NHLPA). Even if only a little of it is true, there could be problems for Ted. The thing I don't get is why this is filed in US court. Isn't the Player's Association a Canadian Union? Will this get the boot to Canadian courts, seeing as how the NHLPA mailing address is in Canada. More striking to be, is how the PA never learns. Who among us has never heard of Alan Eagleson? The former head of the PA got off relatively easy for the way he damaged the lives of players he was charged with helping. Go find the book "Game Misconduct: Alan Eagleson and the Corruption of Hockey" by Russ Conway. That will link you to Amazon.com, but buy it wherever you can. I am not sponsored by anyone. That book should be required reading for anyone who is interested in hockey beyond the scoresheet. It's important, because it tells what has gone on right up until Bob Goodenow took Over the PA. Remember, the NHLPA had a corrupt leader until Goodenow, which means that Saskin is only the third guy to run the PA since it's creation. And if you want to know what happened to the first? From the NHLPA website:

Coincident with the creation of the NHLPA was the players' appointment of Alan Eagleson as the first Executive Director. Eagleson stayed on until the end of 1991, when the players replaced him with Robert (Bob) W. Goodenow. Eagleson went on to face criminal charges relating to his conduct during the time he worked at the NHLPA, and ultimately, on January 6, 1998, pleaded guilty in a Boston court to three counts of fraud, agreeing also to pay a fine of (CDN)$1,000,000. The following day in Toronto, Eagleson pleaded guilty to another three counts of fraud and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Under its current administration, the NHLPA has put in place strict guidelines that guarantee the highest degree of competence and integrity among employees and player agents.

Indeed. I think that says it all.

UPDATE: From the comments, Reality Check helps out:

About the NHLPA being U.S. based - it was in Toronto under Eagleson, but had to be relocated to be susceptible to U.S. labour laws as well as Canadian law.