The View From Wisconsin

I have been musing somehwat over the information over at Eklund's Hockey Rumors, the webblog that puts forth what appears to be happening in the NHL/NHLPA negotiations.

Since the revelation of the identity of Deep Throat from the Watergate scandal, there's been a minor cottage industry in trying to determine what other big mysteries there are in the world today. Right now, the identity of our Mr. Eklund is a big one.

Based on what I've read and ascertained from the so-called Mr. Eklund, I have come to the conclusion that he is probably one of the following:

1. A former GM or assistant GM. The manner in which he refers to sources on both sides of the aisle indicates familairity with both sides, and a GM would be more likely to have "ins" with both sides. However, his slant towards the players' side indicates that he might not have been a GM as much as an assistant - or, perhaps even a scout.
   
2. A former coach or assistant coach. This would explain his rapport with players, while still having an "in" with the owners and management.
   
3. A former player - though not neccessarily the real Pelle Eklund. He may have had some hand in the last negotiations, or he may have been familiar with the ousting of "The Eagle" back in the early 1990's. His understanding of what is happening in the negotiations seems to indicate that he knows how it's done - which means he may have been a member of the NHLPA at one time.
   
4. A former and/or current player's agent. Some of the intricacies of the deal might be related to this aspect of his analysis of offers. It would also explain the trust by players - but wouldn't explain his contacts on the other side of the aisle.
   
5. A former member of the hockey media. Someone who used to cover the NHL on a regular basis, but either retired or was let go a few years back. I'm not as inclined to believe this part, as his lack of use of a spell-checker is somewhat obvious. Then again, no one said you had to be able to spell to cover hockey (other than getting the word "Kovalchuk" right).
   
6. A combination of any or even all of the above. It's entirely possible that he started as a player, then drifted into coaching and GM-ship, maybe tried his hand as an agent and then in the media. That, however, would really limit the number of possible people he could be - to either Barry Melrose or Darren Pang.