NHL Alumni and Class Action Lawsuit

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to: Shoalts, David, Gordon, Sean, amaki

12/03/2013 02:25 PM

Bee: Jim Gregory

Hi Guys,
I wanted to take a minute to thank each of you for the support and great stories regarding the NHL Alumni
Association and the concussion law suit in last Friday's sports page. I can't tell you how much we all truly
appreciate it. I assure you, with your continued support we can make positive changes for hundreds of
players. Whether you know it or not, each of you are helping us make history.
In response to Pelyk's and Napier's comments about the NHL Alumni Association I have a few comments
of my own:

Pelyk claims they're going to make everybody they possibly can aware of open positions and see
"how many want to stick their nose in and do the job for nothing". They're "going" to make
everybody aware? Why haven't we all been made aware of open positions for the past 14 years?
I've never once received notification of any open position nor do I know any guys that have. But
since Pelyk and his board elects its own directors, it probably wouldn't have mattered, nor will it in
the future as long as he's running the show.

Pelyk claims few of us would volunteer to be on the board because it's an unpaid position. It isn't
an unpaid position, it may not be a salaried position but It certainly isn't what most of us would
consider an unpaid position - let's talk about the beni's - paid personal appearances, T & E, tickets
to games, just to name a few ...

Pelyk considers it "unwieldy" to allow the guys to vote for their own Alumni Association board
members. It's a good thing most governments aren't that pompous or the world would be
governed by nothing but dictators.

Pelyk's arrogant comment in reference to other alums holding board positions, "oh yeah, I'm a
board member, what do I do now?" This is an insult to all the alumni. You mean to tell me out of
over 2200 of us the Association claims they have information on, there isn't anyone capable of
running the Association other than him and his clique?

Napier says the list of questions I sent him on behalf of the guys is the second
one he's received this year, the first being from Kevin Maguire. That should
speak volumes in and of itself.
Napier claims "the majority of these questions have already been answered .. .in our
newsletter to all of our membership". First of all, not all registered alumni members even
receive his newsletter, electronically or/etnern(i-se, including myself Second, of those of
us who do receive it, not one I have spoR'en to has eV'~r seen answers to any of our
quest~o~sother th_an a ~im~l~.
att'J~wt tolli\st
his st7ff .(1'~ first name only) and a bri~f
description of their duties, i.e.; . no I q.UQte, "fide\91el.s~okkeeperwho does a great Job
looking after our books".
.

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Napier says anyone can apply for a board position for a three year term but if no
one applies the director can be reappointed [by Pelyk?] for another term. How
can anyone possibly apply if no one even knows there's a position open to begin
with? That's one way to maintain the same board members.
Napier says the NHL handles the communications for the Senior-Player Benefit
and the Emergency Assistance Fund. That's well and fine but at the very least,
why doesn't the Alumni Association take any kind of role in facilitating dialogue
between the NHL and the alumni? Particularly when a former player needs
critical, and many times, life-saving help from the Emergency Assistance Fund?
For example, a former player and myself had to get involved when a fellow
brother's life was at stake and he couldn't get the Alumni Association to even

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return his call. That is unacceptable.

Napier says contacting former players is a challenge as neither the NHL or the
NHLPA hands over contact information to the Alumni Association. Then why

doesn't the Alumni Association hand over their contact information and ask the
NHL and the NHLPA to give it to the former players on their list? C'mon,
between the three organizations they can't get the word out? .
Napier says the majority of corporations that want to be associated with former
NHL players are located in Toronto, as are a large number of alumni. We're
really suppose to believe markets like Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver,
Winnipeg, Detroit, Boston, New York and Chicago don't have potential sponsors
that want to be associated with us? And that these markets don't have a
substantial number of alumni to support events?
Napier says the association raises its operating expenses
through sponsorships with companies. It's widely understood, based on very
reliable sources, that the Alumni Association receives sizable funding on an
annual basis from both the NHL and the NHLPA. However without transparency
we will never know to what extent, or how the funds are appropriated. Or how
about even the $25,000 that Mike Krushelnyski donated to the Alumni
Association that he won on the Battle of the Blades?

In response to Don Cherry's comments regarding the class action suit that we are all "money grabbers", I
say this, he never received serious debilitating injuries sitting behind his microphone. His healthcare and
his pension are something he never needs to worry about. For the rest of us it's a different story. If the
NHL had listened to our concerns about how physically, and in many cases, mentally devastated the game
left us years later, if they had made any attempt at all to assist us with a medical insurance plan that we
were all more than willing to subsidize, I don't believe a lawsuit would have ever even been discussed, let
alone filed.
The NHL just signed a multi-billion dollar network contract and Don Cherry has the audacity to say he
thinks we are money grabbing? When he himself has made and continues to make a [very] lucrative living
off the game? Really Don, just who's the money grabber here? It never was and never will be about us
living large Don, only about us trying to merely live, and receiving the "DIGNITY after Hockey" we
deserve.
I will be in contact guys. Thanks again.
Sincerely,

Kurt
Kurt Walker

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