Defenseman Dennis Wideman will serve as Stuart’s assistant, and veteran forward Mark Recchi confirmed to NESN.com on Thursday that he is running for a spot on committees being formed to find a new NHLPA executive director and amend the NHLPA constitution.
“It’s not official yet, but I think so,” said Stuart, when asked if he was the team’s new player rep. “I’ve been the assistant for a while behind Andy [Ference], and he decided to step down. He put in his time and decided he didn’t want to do it anymore. I was the next guy in line.”
Ference has come under fire since the much-maligned firing of former NHLPA executive director and Newton, Mass., native Paul Kelly. But while negativity and chitchat swirled around Ference, Stuart defended his teammate and thanked him for his time. He also dispelled any rumors that the Bruins’ locker room was divided over the Kelly firing and the NHLPA.
“Andy did some great work for us over the last two years,” Stuart said. “It’s a big time commitment. He put in a lot of time over the last two years, and it was mostly about the time. As far as the locker room goes, there’s nothing going on. He stepped down, and I’m taking over for him. That’s about it.”
Stuart knows there is a lot of work ahead for him and the players to get the NHLPA back in order and admitted that every player needs to pay more attention to union issues.
“Guys are getting more involved and want to know what’s going on, and I think that’s good,” the Minnesota native said. “We need to work as a group. My role is like any leader — to be that voice between the guys [on our team] and the rest of the [NHLPA]. It’s not me just voicing my opinions on issues. It’s me coming to the group, getting their thoughts, forming an opinion as a group and then going from there.
“Yeah, obviously there’s a lot going on [with the union],” Stuart continued. “So it’s important to be informed and to know what’s going on. I think for everybody to get involved at some point [would be good] because it’s been kind of a mess as of late.”
Wideman also admitted fault when it comes to not paying sufficient attention to NHLPA matters and is determined to learn more and help change the course of the union.
“I have to be honest, and after what’s going on, I’m a bit ashamed that I never read the e-mails or paid attention,” Wideman said. “I know I was wrong, but now I’m reading them, and it’s important to learn about these issues because it affects all of us. I’m going to help Mark however I can, and I am looking forward to learning more.”
Recchi, who has been through two lockouts and realizes that the NHLPA needs to organize and regroup to avoid another work stoppage, has offered his help and advice to Stuart and the younger players.
“Mark [Stuart] is really committed to doing it, as Andrew was, and right now, we need our rep to be really committed to it and really communicating to the other 20 guys,” Recchi said of Stuart’s appointment. “I know Mark can do a great job with that and help us all move forward from this.”
Recchi can draw upon years of experience to provide leadership.
“I’ve been a rep a couple times, and I’ve been through it,” Recchi continued. “[I’ve] been through a couple bad periods in our history, and this, unfortunately, is just another tough period for the PA. But Mark and Dennis are very intelligent guys and will put a lot of thought into it — and also our thoughts, I’m sure — so when there’s issues, they will tell us about it. If anyone needs my advice, I’ll give it, but the most important thing is that they get their two cents in. Every player needs to do that, and we should see progress.”
Does Recchi think the younger players and the NHLPA can learn from this latest setback?
“I sure hope so, because there has been too much going on now for the last five or six years,” he said. “It’s time we realize what’s going on and learn what’s going on to set this [labor peace] up properly. We need to take our time. Even though there’s a small window of time here — only two years, really, [to get a new deal done] — we still need to make sure we get it right this time.
“We need to all get involved,” Recchi explained. “Every player somehow has to know what’s happening, and hopefully, we’ll see some progress. It’s time to straighten this out, once and for all.”
