Drama on Hockey Night

"Don has a razor-sharp ability to weed out smokescreens [during negotiations]," says Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean, a friend and client. "He'll hear one or two things and turn an entire argument around on this new information."

Hockey Night in Canada host and Meehan client, Ron MacLean.
Photo courtesy CBC

MacLean saw Meehan in action last year when the agent sought a new deal for the sportscaster with the CBC. "Donnie was in a tough spot in negotiating with the CBC," says MacLean. "We had no counter-offer to use as a bargaining chip. And he had to deal with two negotiators [the head of CBC Sports and the president of English television]." If Meehan surrendered a demand to one of them to earn a concession, MacLean explains, he couldn't be certain that the other wouldn't veto that concession while still expecting Meehan to relinquish the demand he had bartered away with the other negotiator.

"In the end, our only leverage was to leave," says MacLean. The veteran broadcaster worried that if he went that route, he would end up looking like the villain of the piece.

"Don's counsel, and my belief in him, boiled down to his constant contention that 'you do not fear the unknown when you're doing the right thing.' We felt our price was fair and refused their final offer."

Then something strange happened. Thousands of incensed HNIC fans let the CBC know that they didn't want MacLean to leave the show. Even the Globe and Mail's curmudgeonly columnist Rex Murphy warranted that MacLean's imminent departure from the program "touched a raw nerve across the country."

"I was simply amazed," says Meehan. "We pushed the war on Iraq and the Throne Speech off the front pages of the newspapers. I really realized just how much hockey is a part of the social fabric of this country, when the host of Hockey Night in Canada can command that kind of support." The CBC appointed a new negotiator and an agreement was reached 72 hours later.

While the high-profile contract talks involving NHL stars are what usually get Meehan's name in the news, he says that such negotiations "are actually a relatively small part of the relationship we have with our players. We deal with all sorts of things on their behalf - insurance, taxation, finances, endorsements, merchandising, even living arrangements in the case of younger players."

Pat LaFontaine, recently voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after a stellar career, can vouch for Meehan's dedication to his clients.

"He not only cares about the player, he cares even more about the individual off the ice and about that player's family." LaFontaine retired from hockey four years ago, but remains close to Meehan - the agent is godfather to LaFontaine's son.

"In sports, things don't always go your way. Donnie made sure he was there for you when you needed him. When I look back at my career, I realize that hiring Don was one of the best decisions I ever made."

Averting Armageddon

Former Redman coach Charlie Baillie with Meehan and his old Redman helmet.
Owen Egan

Meehan winces when he hears the latest dire prediction about the future of the sport he loves. The Common Bargaining Agreement that sets the roadmap for labour relations in the NHL will expire after next season and many owners and players believe that a lengthy work stoppage is inevitable. Owners want to find some way to halt the continuing escalation of players' salaries. The NHLPA, for its part, is equally committed to combatting any kind of salary cap.

"We have to have a more positive approach to labour issues in the NHL," Meehan asserts. "People on both sides have been talking about how we're all heading towards Armageddon in a year's time. Well, if you're a fan, you don't want to hear that. That only makes you cynical about the sport." Meehan points to the example of Major League Baseball and the considerable damage done to its fan base in the wake of that sport's last work stoppage.

"The two sides should be working together to avoid this and I don't think we've really seen that yet."

Meehan suggests that if the NHL truly wants to lure more fans into its arenas, it ought to redouble efforts to crack down on obstruction. League referees were stricter about penalizing players for clutching and grabbing to scuttle the efforts of opponents at the beginning of last season, but after a few months the get-tough approach wilted.

"Restraining fouls are a real problem for the NHL," says Meehan. "The greatest players in the game complain about all the obstruction that goes on. If the message out there is that the only way to win in this league is to use the trap against your opponent, to restrain their best players, then we're in trouble."

The NHL's most exciting stars are too often prevented from showcasing their skating and scoring skills, reasons Meehan. "The NBA would never allow that to happen."

Winding Down

Player agents occasionally switch roles and take on jobs as NHL general managers themselves. The Colorado Avalanche's Pierre Lacroix and the Phoenix Coyotes' Mike Barnett both toiled as agents before becoming the GMs of their respective clubs.

Meehan has no doubts about his ability to follow in their footsteps. "Would I be equipped to do it? You bet I would. But I've been on the other side of the fence for too long." Ron MacLean suggests that his friend would make for an ideal head of a players' association.

But Meehan has something else in mind. Profiled as part of a recent ad campaign for Harry Rosen, Meehan said, "I'm in the stretch run and I'm awfully happy I am." He has built a solid team at Newport over 20 years and his second-in-command, Pat Morris, has become one of the most respected agents in the business. Meehan looks forward to slowing down.

"To build up a successful business like this, you have to give up a lot. I want to do all the things I haven't had time for - and that's a very long list. I might go back to school and take some courses. I might pick up a musical instrument. I certainly want to spend more time with friends and on the golf course."

"He sacrificed a lot to be in the position he is in," says LaFontaine. "He goes all out. He is a rare individual."