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Pelletier and Houda look back at
key performers from the Canada Cup/World Cup of
Hockey
Alan Eagleson Biography
Prior to the 1991
Canada Cup tournament Eagleson was quoted in The
Hockey News as saying "One of the great things
about the Canada Cup is that it's run by a very
small committee - me."
People got a chuckle
out of that comment, not knowing that somewhere deep
down inside, The Eagle knew he wasn't joking. At
that time the general public - largely unaware of
rumors of his illegal and amoral activities - still
loved the Eagle. He was the most visible man off the
ice in many of hockey's greatest moments in the 20
preceding years. He was instrumental in the creation
of the beloved 1972 Summit Series showdown with the
Soviet Union. He was largely responsible for
the birth of the Canada Cup tournaments that
quenched our thirst for more of the great hockey
that we saw in 1972. Out of the agreement to create
the Canada Cup were several other agreements. For
years Canada had boycotted IIHF events. Eagleson
helped get the Canadian national team back in IIHF
events such as the world championships, as well as
helping to create the world junior championships.
Also he helped to allow NHL players (at least the
ones not playing in the NHL playoffs) to participate
in these IIHF events
It was the Canada Cup
that was Alan Eagleson's baby though. Prior to the
revelation of his dastardly deeds, the main
complaint about Eagleson was that he took every
opportunity to get his smug face in the limelight.
At times, he cast a shadow over the tournament
itself. He loved the attention, the tv interviews,
the newspaper articles.
Eagleson is now known
of course the disgraced former hockey czar. As the
leader of the National Hockey League Players
Association he was once the most powerful man in
hockey, if only because he was good buddies with the
NHL owners. He helped to keep salaries down, and
stole money from the players - specifically from
their pension funds.
He also skimmed money
from the international hockey tournaments he so
proudly displayed.
Eagleson, at age 64,
was finally caught, after caught after several years
of complicated investigations. He plea bargained his
way down from 32 alleged crimes to confessing to
three in the United States, plus three more in
Canada. He was sentenced to 18 months in an Ontario
prison, though got out early. He was also fined $1
million Canadian dollars.
His enemies will of
course say that is nowhere near enough of a
punishment for this unscrupulous businessman. They
can take some solace in knowing that the Eagle no
longer flies highly. He was booted out of the Hockey
Hall of Fame and lost his Order of Canada - the
highest civilian award a Canadian can achieve. He is
now an ex-con, and leads a quiet life - a far cry
from the Eagleson we used to know.
His long list of
wrongs have been documented in books, newspapers and
on television several times over. Since this book
specifically covers the Canada Cup tournaments, lets
take a closer look at how Eagleson abused the system
there.
There is a great book
called Game Misconduct by Russ Conway. Conway is the
reporter who worked diligently with the FBI to help
net the Eagle. In Conway's book, he sets aside a
chapter to look at Eagleson's international hockey
ventures.
Eagleson, who headed
the organization called Hockey Canada which
negotiated these international hockey dealings, was
using this hockey cash cow to pay for many of his
own expenses. Hockey Canada paid hundreds of
thousands - maybe millions - of dollars to unnamed
directors and other related parties for their
consultant work and management services. Conway
found that many of Eagleson's employees of this ilk
were close friends and business associates, who were
being paid generous amounts of money. This all but
blatantly suggests that Eagleson's and his circle of
friends got their "paycheck" came
from here.
That money also
covered secretarial, office support, and bookkeeping
expenses. Conway uncovered that often Eagleson's
office staff expenses were covered by his contract
with NHLPA, yet the same office staff would again be
paid for by his contract with Hockey Canada!
In addition, Eagleson
got much his law firms office space paid for.
Expenditures ranging from business taxes to phone
bills to photocopying charges were partially covered
in the agreements.
And of course Hockey
Canada covered all of Eagleson's travel expenses -
including the lavish hotels, first class
transportation and the fancy meals. The Eagle
was living a very good life through his unscrupulous
ways.
Despite his illegal
activities, Eagleson did some great things for
international hockey. Without him we would have
missed out on many of the glorious events in
international hockey that now will be looked back
upon as the "glory years" when Canada
battled the evil Soviets. Canada's return to
international hockey events, allowance for NHL
players to appear in events such as the World
Championships, the theatrics of all the Canada Cups,
the 1972 Summit Series - even Paul Henderson's goal
would not have happened without Eagleson's help. We
would be without some of the greatest hockey
memories in the history of the sport.
Still, it doesn't
make up for what he did - especially for those he
cheated..
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