One of hockey’s most important figures for over a decade passed away on Saturday.
Former NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow, who led the players’ association through the 2004-05 lockout, passed away at age 72, the NHLPA announced in a statement.
The lockout was resolved on July 13, 2005, with the implementation of a salary cap, as well as a salary floor and a guarantee that players would get 54 per cent of total NHL revenues.
Shortly after the agreement was reached, Goodenow was asked to step down as NHLPA executive director and was replaced by Ted Saskin.
Goodenow, a native of Dearborn, Mich., served as the executive director for 13 years, from 1992 to 2005. He joined the NHLPA in 1990, serving as the deputy executive director.
“The modern NHLPA, and the work it has done to improve the quality of life for thousands of players past and present, is a direct result of the foundation that Bob Goodenow built,” the NHLPA said in their statement. “His impact on the game of hockey is lasting and profound.”
He quickly made a difference, leading NHL players on a 10-day strike in 1992 just before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The strike resulted in increased playoff bonuses, changes to free agency and additional options for players’ licensing.
Goodenow was also at the heart of the 1994-95 NHL lockout, a 103-day dispute centred around the players opposing a salary cap.
“Bob was a skilled attorney and tenacious advocate for the players he represented as an agent and as the head of the Players’ Association,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “We send our deepest condolences to his wife, Wendy, their three children, Joe, Katharine and Kerry, and his many friends and admirers throughout hockey.”
Past his work off the ice, Goodenow also had a history on it, captaining Harvard’s men’s hockey team in the mid-1970s and competing internationally with Team USA in the 1974 and 1975 world championships.
He would go on to play for the Flint Generals of the IHL, but soon shifted his attention to law, going to law school at the University of Detroit in 1979.
— With files from the Canadian Press
