I found the following clip a bit ironic. It's from today's Globe and Mail:
Like most teams, the Calgary Flames have long provided players for autograph sessions at local charity events. In the past, the athletes would dutifully sign as many autographs as possible for fans who were quickly shuffled past them as if on an assembly line.Today, at the suggestion of its players, Calgary does things a little differently. The Flames take the time to hold real conversations with the people who are so eager to meet them. Jarome Iginla and his teammates may sign fewer photos and cards, but everyone comes away happier and the team gets better promotional mileage out of the event.
It's one of the small but telling signs that National Hockey League players are gaining a bigger voice in the way their sport is being marketed, a striking departure from the old adversarial relationship between players and owners and one of the promised outcomes of the new collective labour agreement.
"Old" adversarial relationship? Odd, especially when league general managers feel free to ban a piece of equipment that only one player in the league bothers to use. Give me a break.
