Colin Campbell’s email etiquette a growing concern

Campbell considers the human toll of a chain letter.
(Photo Source)

Blair Charbonneau, Hockey Net

NEW YORK — NHL Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations, Colin Campbell, has come under fire from League Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL players for his appalling email etiquette.

In a story that broke earlier this week, excerpts of Colin Campbell’s emails were published, exposing Campbell’s ignorance of, or contempt for, any sort of Internet etiquette. Individuals are now coming forward to discuss Campbell’s behaviour.

“It’s bad form, I’m embarrassed for him. You’d hope someone of [Campbell’s] distinction could adhere to the same standards of convention as the rest of us. Seriously, it’s not 1998,” said a disgusted Sean Avery.

Campbell’s publicized messages to players and administration were often exhaustively lengthy, riddled with typos, grammatical errors and other common emailing faux-pas. “It’s just all caps, all the time with him. He always says there’s an urgent matter to discuss, I head into his office assuming he’s furious, but then he only gives me two games,” explained the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin.

Former NHLPA ombudsman Eric Lindros was also irked by the complete disregard for formality, citing Campbell’s continual misspelling of his name, “He’s always calling me ‘Lindrop’. C’mon, at least use Spellcheck before you hit send.”

Even Campbell’s own son, Gregory—a Boston Bruin, was mortified when his father accidentally “replied all” in a mass message carbon copied to all 690 NHL players. “It was humiliating, now the whole league knows I’m not allowed to attend Marc Savard’s birthday party,” commented Campbell.

The media has confronted Gary Bettman regarding the incidents, and inquired as to whether he was aware of Campbell’s unrefined communications skills. The commissioner stated he was “more than aware.”

“It’s like my grandmother just discovered the Internet. You wouldn’t believe the forwards I get. Every day my inbox is flooded with the dancing baby or ‘lolcats’— I’ve seen it already. Campbell’s a total noob,” Bettman vented, adding,

Bettman has instructed players and NHLPA personnel to report Campbell's messages as spam.