Puck Daddy chats with Kevin Dallman about being best defenseman in KHL, life in Kazakhstan, NHL players in Russia

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:18 -0500

Remember Kevin Dallman(notes)? You're forgiven if you don't. His NHL career lasted 154 games between the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings, with whom he played from 2006-08. He was a serviceable spare-part defenseman, on the road to becoming a journeyman shuttled between the NHL and the minor leagues. That was until he made the bold career decision last year to sign with Barys Astana of the newly formed Kontinental Hockey League, where he scored 58 points in 53 game...

Russia: The New Land of the Free for Hockey Players?

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:14:19 -0500

By Brendan McIntyre The year was 1980 and the United States had just beaten the Soviet Union to win the Olympic gold medal in one of the biggest upsets in sports history. All hockey fans know the story. The underdog group of young Americans managed to beat the powerful, skilled, and experienced Soviets, thought to be a team destined to win gold. 1980 was also the year that free-market capitalist Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States. Throughout the 80's, Reagan wor...

The KHL: Threat Or Not?

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:58:49 -0500

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) is being talked about a great deal as a threat to the National Hockey League. This conclusion seems to be drawn from only several examples of established players crossing the Atlantic to ply their trade. This, in my opinion, seems to be far from the truth and a great exaggeration. The KHL was formed in 2008 as a successor to the Russian Superleague. There really isn't very much difference between these two and yet suddenly the KHL...

Move Over Madoff: Another Sports Scammer Surfaces

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:42:00 -0500

((HT: NY Daily News via Howard Bloom))

An unlicensed financial adviser who bills himself as a "lifestyle coach" scammed several NHL players out of millions of dollars, according to sources familiar with the case and a lawsuit filed by former NHL star Joe Juneau.

Phillip A. Kenner, an Arizona businessman who described himself as a top-tier financial adviser but who had not been licensed since 2003 to buy or sell regulated securities, once claimed to be a high-powered money manager for Rangers great Mark Messier and the pop group 'N Sync. Kenner was deposed in the case this past week in Los Angeles. Juneau has accused him of failing to provide even basic accounting information regarding the handling of the former Washington Capitals center's finances.

" Juneau has not received investment returns from these investments. Nor (has) he even had any written records of these investments as proof that they have, in fact, ever been made," says the lawsuit, which was filed in December in U.S. District Court in L.A. "Equally as disturbing, in rendering 'professional' services to Juneau, Kenner has committed myriad acts of negligence, failing to complete the most basic accounting tasks and consistently failing to provide Juneau with adequate documentation ... As a result of Kenner's malfeasance and neglect, Juneau cannot account for millions of dollars of his assets."

A source familiar with the case says Kenner and his associates, including former race car driver Tommy Constantine, may have defrauded Juneau and other players out of as much as $20million. Sources say the FBI has been contacted about the matter.

It is a case that is bound to raise alarms among athletes who trust their multimillion-dollar fortunes to freewheeling and little-regulated advisers. The funds of 10 current and former Major League Baseball players, including the Yankees' Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady and the Mets' Mike Pelfrey, were frozen in February after Texas financier Robert Allen Stanford was charged in an alleged $8billion fraud. The SEC charged Stanford and three of his companies for orchestrating a fraudulent investment scheme centering on an $8billion certificate-of-deposit program.

In that case, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O'Connor entered a temporary restraining order, froze Stanford's assets, and appointed a receiver to marshal those assets. Damon told reporters during spring training in Tampa that he could not "pay bills right now," while Nady said he could not use a credit card to put a hold on a New York City condo he intended to purchase. Pelfrey said then that his funds had been frozen, too.

Meanwhile, Mets owner Fred Wilpon and his son Jeff were among the victims of Bernard Madoff's $64.8 billion Ponzi scheme; so were Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax, former Met Tim Teufel and former Islander Bob Nystrom.

Other defendants named in the Juneau lawsuit are described as "straw men" that worked with Kenner to scam Juneau out of millions that the player thought he was investing with them. Juneau's attorney Michael Meeks did not return calls and Kenner's lawyer Thomas Griffin declined comment.

Juneau isn't the only hockey player who says he was defrauded by Kenner: Minnesota Wild right wing Owen Nolan has filed for arbitration in Arizona, claiming he was scammed by the businessman, while Jozef Stumpel, a 16-year NHL veteran who is playing in Russia, filed a federal lawsuit in September 2008 that says Kenner borrowed $2.5 million from him and has not paid back a penny.

Stumpel has since dropped the suit. His lawyer, Jennifer McGrath, declined to comment. A source familiar with the case says Kenner flew to Europe and convinced Stumpel, a native of Slovakia, to drop the legal action because it had damaged Kenner's ability to pay back the loan.

Ethan Moreau of the Edmonton Oilers, meanwhile, filed a federal lawsuit in Arizona in December against Constantine, a longtime associate of Kenner and a defendant in the Juneau lawsuit. Moreau's suit claims the Oilers captain gave Constantine $290,000as a deposit to purchase two condominiums at Palms Place, the luxury resort owned by the Maloof family, which also owns the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Constantine used the money to buy the condos for himself and has refused to refund the deposit, according to the lawsuit. Constantine was a race car driver whose now-defunct team was sponsored by the Palm.

According to Arizona Corporate Commission records, the owners of another NBA team, Phoenix Suns managing partner Robert Sarver and vice chairman Sam Garvin, serve as directors with Constantine on the Avalon Aviation Center Condominium Association, the governing body of a development adjacent to the Scottsdale airport.

Constantine, who was known as Tommy Hormovitis before he legally changed his name several years ago, pleaded guilty in 1993 in Illinois to one count of delivery of a controlled substance - cocaine - and was sentenced to six years in prison.

According to Juneau's lawsuit, Kenner and the other defendants committed fraud and breached his fiduciary duty by receiving kickbacks from companies that received Juneau's investment money. The suit also claims Kenner had ownership interests in other ventures that received Juneau's investments. It is also alleged that Kenner secretly withdrew funds from the former player's accounts without authorization, using the cash for his own use.

"During the course of the fiduciary relationship between Kenner and Juneau, Kenner set out on a course to exploit and take unfair advantage of Juneau, reaping significant financial and other benefits for himself without regard for Juneau," the lawsuit says. " Kenner preyed upon this personal relationship with Juneau, exploiting the complete trust Juneau placed in him for Kenner's own gain."

So, What's Wrong with Vanilla?

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:24:33 -0500

The Ogre takes a look at the Panthers with much reckless abandon or are they just bland?

NHL Quotes of the Week

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 08:40:09 -0500