Chaos continues for the NHLPA, which is now in search of its third executive director in less than three months—a turnover rate that’s rivaling your local Burger King.

After Paul Kelly was fired on Aug. 31—less than 2 years after taking charge—interim executive director Ian Penny resigned last week along with board members Steve Larmer and Ken Baumgartner.  Talk about a dysfunctional unit… I smell a reality show for versus.

With so much instability in the player’s union one has to be worried about another potential lockout when the current collective bargaining agreement expires following the 2010-2011 season. How bad would a work stoppage—whether for one day or one month—be for the NHL?  I’m thinking the league would fall behind bull riding and slightly ahead of competitive darts in television ratings.  Disaster would be an understatement.

Sharks defenseman Rob Blake, Chris Chelios of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Bruins right winger Mark Recchi are in charge of finding an interim replacement for the interim guy that didn’t want the job.  At this point, are they taking applications through the job openings page on NHL.com?

You look at the four current players trying to pick up the pieces and it’s like playing a game of “one of these things is not like the others.”  Here’s an idea: Why doesn’t the 84-year-old Chelios retire from minor league hockey and assume the executive director role himself?  Chelios has had the respect of his peers for more years than rookie John Tavares has been alive and could make greater contributions in a leadership role with the NHLPA than he’s made on the ice in the last decade.

Then again, Chelios was the captain and “leader” of the 1998 U.S. Olympic team that reminded us all that it is, in fact, possible to be in your mid-20’s or 30’s and go back to the glory days of preschool by trashing their hotel room in Nagano’s Olympic village.  Maybe leading isn’t the calling card for Chelios after all.

The OHL chose to suspend 20-year-old Michael Liambas for the remainder of the regular season and the entire playoffs for this hit on 16-year-old Ben Fanelli:  CLICK FOR VIDEO

First and foremost, Fanelli has been moved out of the intensive care unit and regained some bodily movement, though he does have fractures to his skull and face as a result of the collision.

Admittedly, I am not sure if a previous feud existed between Liambas and Fanelli but reports suggest this was just a random play along the boards.  If that’s the case I can’t help but think the punishment outweighs the crime.

The reality is that athletes today are bigger, faster and stronger than ever before.  Hockey players and football players are beginning to blur the lines between wild animals and freakishly skilled humans.  Thus, when collisions occur the results can be more devastating than ever before and until players start wearing astronaut helmets there isn’t enough padding that can prevent serious head injuries.

In hockey, only three things warrant a suspension similar to the one handed down on Liambas—use of any piece of equipment as a weapon (see Marty McSorley), jumping an opponent from behind to start a fight or going Mike Tyson and biting said opponent’s face in said fight.

Liambas didn’t leave his feet and his forearm appears to catch Fanelli in the shoulder more than the head.  He could not have known how violently Fanelli would crash into the glass and then onto the ice.  Liambas is receiving the penalty for a homicide, when he really only committed a misdemeanor.

It’s far too early for the NHL All-Star game and the Olympic break doesn’t come for another four months, so where did all the games go this week?

Many teams received a nice little vacation after roughly 15 grueling games and there doesn’t appear to be a reason for it other than a schedule-maker that’s trying to make sure players can’t find their rhythm until mid-January.

It makes perfect sense for the league to schedule an absurd number of back-to-back games so that the Olympic break doesn’t force the season into August, but do players really need a four or five day rest after one month?  Instead of turning the clocks back an hour maybe the NHL scheduler turned the calendar forward a week—can I get a refund on my NHL Center Ice package for Nov.1-5?

Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robataille and Steve Yzerman enter the Hall of Fame on Monday—that’s 3 of the top-10 goal scorers of all time with 2,101 goals between them.  That’s more than double the total goals scored by Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jarome Iginla combined.

Another great job of marketing by the NHL where many fans didn’t realize that arguably the greatest class in history is about to be inducted.  Many people may not care but at least give them the option not to care as opposed to being completely oblivious.

If the NHL or NHLPA would like any more suggestions on how to run the greatest game in the world I’d be more than happy to help.

Yet Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom likely heard something very similar from doctors after being speared in the “man zone” by Patrick Sharp of the Blackhawks during last year’s western conference finals.

Unbelievably, Lidstrom not only played the remainder of that game but practiced the next day before surgery was required.  The future hall-of-famer then managed to play all seven games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Stories like this aren’t uncommon in the NHL where hockey players have earned—and for good reason—their reputation as the extreme warriors of professional sports.  Its not uncommon for a hockey player to take a stick or puck to the grill and lose teeth or require stitches only to return to the ice shortly after.

Meanwhile pitchers have been known to hit the disabled list for hangnails, NFL quarterbacks can’t be touched from the waste down or the shoulder pads up and Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce required a wheel chair for a sprained ankle in the 2008 NBA Finals.

So it makes the early onslaught of injuries in the 2009-10 season all the more disturbing and confusing—and that’s not even taking into account the H1N1 virus that’s already affected four NHLers or serious concussions that have sidelined Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, Oilers star defenseman Sheldon Souray or talented Panthers youngster David Booth.

A pair of stars from the Dallas Stars—Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen—have played in three games combined and don’t even qualify for “A-list” patient status.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins have been hit hard by injuries to their talented Russian duo.  Defenseman Sergei Gonchar will be out another month with a broken wrist while fellow countryman and MVP candidate Evgeni Malkin is out 2-3 weeks with a strained right shoulder.

Luckily for the Pens, a red-hot start (10-2-0, 20 points) has put them in a fine position to absorb early injuries and with their mind entirely focused on winning back-to-back titles, a healthy Gonchar and Malkin down the stretch and in the playoffs is really all that matters.

The Penguins opponents in last year’s finals—the Red Wings—have also been hit hard with injuries.  Star right-winger Johan Franzen is out until February with a torn ACL and a broken wrist has sidelined center Valtteri Filppula until right around the New Year.  For a Detroit team already off to an uncharacteristically slow start, the injury news could not be much worse.

In Boston, the Bruins hopes to repeat as eastern conference champions took a big hit when forwards Marc Savard and Milan Lucic both landed on the IR until late November.  While north of the border—in Vancouver—the Canucks were already without one Sedin twin (Daniel), veteran forward Pavol Demitra and star defenseman Sami Salo when goalie Roberto Luongo discovered a hairline fracture of his rib.

While Luongo’s injury doesn’t appear to be serious, and the key Bruins should be back with plenty of time left to do damage, these preseason favorites may struggle to live up to the hype.

Meanwhile, with the Olympics looming, the Russian national team has more to worry about.  The Montreal Canadiens defensive corps to a big hit when Andrei Markov sliced a tendon in his ankle—an injury that might force him out of action for the national team—and one that has certainly hurt any chances of another playoff run in Montreal.

One of the most exciting players in the league—Atlanta Thrashers left wing Ilya Kovalchuk—broke a bone in his foot and will be sideline at least four more weeks.  This is a crushing blow to a team with little talent and throws an interesting twist into Kovalchuk’s future with the franchise.  A free agent at season’s end, will this injury make it an easier choice to trade the supremely talented winger?  Will potential suitors now be hesitant to part with high draft picks and prospect to acquire him now?

Kovalchuk’s game is so much about speed, will this injury cause him to lose a step and thus bring his level of play down a notch?  Kovalchuk and the Thrashers have officially entered dramatic territory.

In the city of brotherly love fans have plenty to cheer about these days with the Eagles and NL Champion Phillies.  But Flyers fans have plenty to be unhappy about.  Already struggling at 5-4-1, the Flyers will be without 30-goal scorer Simon Gagne for the foreseeable future as he is sidelined indefinitely with a sports hernia.  Now, another potent offensive weapon in Daniel Briere has a groin strain and is being listed as day-to-day.

Groin injuries are never fun and tend to linger.  For a speedster like Briere, anything that slows him down will negatively impact his playmaking ability and scoring output.  If Gagne is out too long and Briere has trouble getting back to 100 percent, the Flyers slow start could turn into a long-term problem.

I’m not a doctor, I don’t play one on television and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but many teams need their stars to get healthy soon or plenty of fans will be having an unhappy Christmas.