because he’s extremely unpopular among fans and people dismiss him as being a cry baby whenever he raises concerns. If it were someone like Yzerman or Messier, people would be listening. If the NHLPA doesn’t have Ombudsman in the future because Lindros gave Kelly a perfect excuse to abolish that position, the NHLPA may very well have problems down the road with the executive director being too powerful and not adhering to rules, just like before. The main culprit, however, is player indifference. The intention was good to have an ombudsman, who doesn’t report to the director, to handle disputes with the executive director. But if players are not serious about listening to the ombudsman (or at least acknowledge the work done by him), then nobody wants to hold that position and the director can become a dictator, as the player reps themselves don’t have the time to monitor the director’s work.