{{Short description|Canadian sports executive}} '''Theodore Saskin''' (born 1959) is a Canadian lawyer who served as the third executive director of the NHL Players Association from 2005 to 2007.<ref>{{cite news|last=Panaccio|first=Tim|date=September 2, 2005|url=http://articles.philly.com/2005-09-02/sports/25429303_1_executive-board-board-members-vote|title=Saskin tapped to run NHL union The mandated selection rules were altered in a phone session to get the office filled quickly.|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062933/http://articles.philly.com/2005-09-02/sports/25429303_1_executive-board-board-members-vote|archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date=October 3, 2023|via=Wayback Machine}}</ref> He assumed the title after Bob Goodenow resigned on July 28, 2005, but was unanimously fired by the NHLPA on May 10, 2007, after a union-commissioned report concluded Saskin had quarterbacked a campaign to hack into player email accounts.<ref>[https://www.thestar.com/Sports/NHL/article/212647 "NHLPA fires Saskin"], Toronto Star, May 10, 2007</ref>
==Early life and career== Saskin was born in 1959 and grew up in the Montreal borough of Ville Saint-Laurent.<ref name="maki">{{cite news|title=NHLPA's new leader is a peacemaker, not warrior|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-globe-and-mail/181066653/|last=Maki|first=Allan|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|page=S1|access-date=September 14, 2025|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref><ref name="mhubbell">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEMeAQAAMAAJ&q=%22SASKIN+,+born+April+16+,+1959%22|via=Google Books|title=Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory|year=1992|publisher=Martindale-Hubbell|page=52 |isbn=978-1-56160-022-9 }}</ref> He earned a Certificat d'Études Politiques (CEP) from Instituts d'études politiques in 1979, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis University in 1980, and was admitted to the Ontario bar in 1985 after graduating from the University of Toronto Law School in 1983.<ref name="mhubbell" /> He has practiced law in Toronto since 1985 and worked in commercial litigation in his earlier career.<ref name="maki" /><ref>{{Cite web | title=Ted Saskin Lawyer Toronto | url=http://www.law-firms-canada.com/ted-saskin_l44005.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413140424/http://www.law-firms-canada.com/ted-saskin_l44005.html | access-date=2025-01-17 | archive-date=2014-04-13}}</ref> ==NHLPA career== Before becoming executive director, Saskin had previously served as NHLPA Senior Director of Business Affairs and Licensing since 1992,<ref name="maki" /> as one of Goodenow's new deputies when the latter assumed the role of executive director after the forced resignation of Alan Eagleson.
Saskin was credited with taking a more conciliatory approach to collective bargaining agreement negotiations, compared to the hard-line stance of Goodenow, which ended the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Saskin was widely seen as the heir apparent to Goodenow and initially touted as a successor due to his knowledge of the CBA, so he became NHLPA Executive Director in 2005 after Goodenow was forced to step down.
However, Saskin's hiring came under scrutiny from some players who felt that he was improperly elected and misrepresented salary figures during negotiations with players union president Trevor Linden, a forward with the Vancouver Canucks.<ref>[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0916FC34550C748DDDA00894DD404482 "N.H.L. Players Not All Happy With Leadership"], ''The New York Times'', September 17, 2005</ref> On October 2, 2006, a group of NHL players, led by Chris Chelios filed a lawsuit in US Federal Court to remove Saskin and also millions of dollars in damages and punitive damages. Eventually the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge who ruled that because the NHLPA is based in Toronto, Ontario, that is the appropriate venue for the case.<ref>[http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=280401&page=NewsPage&service=page "NHLPA boss Ted Saskin says Chelios lawsuit has no merit"], Associated Press, October 2, 2006</ref>
In 2007, Saskin and other union executives came under fire for allegedly inappropriately accessing the private email accounts of players and agents who have challenged his hiring.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/email-furor-has-nhl-players-on-edge/article_09d3ea2a-87e2-57e9-b376-6ac4501fa365.html|title=Email furor has NHL players on edge|work=Toronto Star|date=March 5, 2007|access-date=October 24, 2023}}</ref>
On March 11, 2007, Saskin was placed on a paid leave of absence from his position as NHLPA executive director,<ref>[https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=199810 "Saskin sent home on paid leave of absence"], ''The Sports Network'', March 11, 2007</ref> before being let go on May 10. Saskin, who was in the second year of a five-year contract reportedly worth $10 million US, reportedly received nearly $750,000 US in accrued vacation pay and union shares.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}
==Personal life== Saskin's wife is a family doctor.<ref name="maki" /> They have four children, including triplets.<ref name="maki" /> ==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{succession box | before = Bob Goodenow | title = NHLPA Executive Director | years = 2005–2007 | after = Paul Kelly}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saskin, Ted}} Category:National Hockey League Players' Association executive directors Category:Living people Category:1959 births Category:Canadian lawyers