McNall Might Head Up NHL Board of Governors : Hockey: King owner apparently has votes. Lindros decision is delayed because of late arrival by arbitrator.

King owner Bruce McNall, who has support from a broad-based coalition among the NHL’s Board of Governors, apparently has secured enough votes from that group to become its new chairman, according to three team owners.

Still, McNall’s ascension to the league’s most powerful position after the league meetings are scheduled to conclude here today isn’t completely ensured. . There are several factors at work behind the scenes, among them:

--The Eric Lindros case. The NHL had hoped to have a conclusion by Sunday, but the independent arbitrator in the case, a Toronto-based lawyer, Larry Bertuzzi, didn’t arrive in Montreal until Sunday morning. Bertuzzi was called in when the Quebec Nordiques apparently made two deals involving Lindros on Saturday with two teams, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers.

Bertuzzi was unable to hold his initial pre-arbitration meetings with the Nordiques, Rangers and Flyers until after the Board of Governors’ first session ended in the late afternoon.

Now, a final decision could be made as early as Tuesday or as late as mid-week, preventing the quick resolution that the NHL desired.

Which means there is a chance the distraction of the Lindros affair could delay a final decision on the new chairman. The board has yet to even consider the pressing topic of a successor to President John Ziegler, who announced his resignation earlier this month, effective Sept. 30.

--The Bill Wirtz factor. If the decision is put off, the vote could come at the next Board of Governors meetings in August. This means that the current chairman, Chicago’s Wirtz, would stay in power and play a significant role in the selection of the new president.

This was behind Wirtz’s brief decision this week to get back in the running. In May, Wirtz declared he was stepping down as chairman after 14 years of continuous service and 18 years overall.

According to sources, McNall’s initial reluctance to pursue the position--due to his hectic schedule--was abated when support started coming in from different factions among the league’s owners. McNall, who became the sole owner of the Kings in March of 1988, is considered one the league’s most progressive leaders.

During the 10-day players’ strike, McNall enhanced his reputation by playing a conciliatory role in its resolution. At times, he kept the sides from having a complete breakdown in communications.

A key crossover voice in support came from New Jersey owner John McMullen, who is considered a hard-liner.

If McNall is elected, he would be the first chairman not from the league’s original six teams. The other chairmen of the Board of Governors have been Ziegler, who served two, one-year terms--brief interruptions during the Wirtz era, which began in the 1970-71 season. In addition to Wirtz and Ziegler, there have been only four other chairmen of the board--Conn Smythe (Toronto), James Norris (Chicago), Bruce Norris (Detroit) and William Jennings (New York Rangers). The position was created in June of 1953.

When Wirtz stepped back into the race here this week, the decision angered many of the other owners. “That was the last thing we needed,” one owner said, calling it was a divisive move.

Now, Wirtz apparently has sensed that his base of support is too narrow. After Sunday’s meetings, he was considering throwing his support behind either Winnipeg Jet owner Barry Shenkarow or the Montreal Canadiens’ Ron Corey.

According to one owner, McNall had secured the number of necessary votes when the governors took an informal straw poll on Saturday.

NHL Notes

Another of Bruce McNall’s companies, MultiVision, will promote the two games at neutral sites on the league’s expanded 84-game schedule. Those two extra games were a compromise reached between owners and players that helped settle the strike. They will split the revenue from those games. Two other announcements came out of the Board of Governors session. The club with the top choice in the entry draft can now negotiate with the prospective draftee before the draft. If the No. 1 pick is signed beforehand, the team with the second choice can follow the same procedure and so on during the first round. Barry Melrose, Detroit’s top minor league coach, had been scheduled to meet McNall on Sunday, but the owner’s increasingly busy schedule prevented a conference.