NHL Officials Ratify Deal, Return Today

NHL referees and linesmen will return to work today, after ratifying a four-year agreement that significantly boosts their salaries, playoff guarantees and severance pay.

Wednesday’s approval by the 58-member NHL Officials Assn., which voted unanimously to strike Nov. 15, was “not unanimous, but very close to it,” said Don Meehan, the association’s chief negotiator. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said all 24 of the 26 NHL governors he contacted supported the deal.

The agreement will be retroactive to the start of the season, but officials will not be paid for games missed during a 17-day strike.

Miscellany

Lanny Wadkins will participate in his ninth Ryder Cup after being named captain for the 1995 competition between the U.S. team and Europe’s best at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y.

Wadkins, 44, said he also hopes to be in a position to play in the event, in which he is 20-11-2.

“Making the Ryder Cup team has always been one of my main goals,” he said. “If I play my way on, then I’ll have to make a decision about whether I can be a playing captain or not.”