NHL Owners Offer Players Revised Plan : Hockey: The two sides negotiate for seven hours. No details of new proposal are disclosed.

The NHL on Tuesday offered a new proposal to solve an old problem that has already delayed the start of the season by two weeks.

The proposal revised its previous plan, which would have subsidized small-market clubs by imposing a graduated levy on clubs that exceed a payroll limit. However, none of the participants in Tuesday’s seven-hour negotiating meeting would disclose details of the plan or say if it generated new hope of producing an agreement by Commissioner Gary Bettman’s Oct. 15 deadline for preserving the full season.

“We’ve got some very tough issues,” said Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHL Players Assn. “I’m not going to categorize the day’s negotiations in any way.”

Bettman, who will meet with the union again today in New York, declined to say if the offer was the league’s best proposal.

“I don’t think it’s realistic to respond to that in the course of collective bargaining,” he said. “We’ve made a proposal and the players are considering it. And if this takes us down the road to making a deal, then that will be great.”

Players have objected to all salary constraints introduced by the league. They rejected the levy on the grounds that clubs would try to keep salaries low in order to avoid exceeding the limit and triggering the penalty.

The union has proposed a flat levy on the payrolls and gate receipts of clubs with the league’s top 16 revenues. The proceeds would go to the 10 lower-revenue clubs. The league contends that would not produce enough money to help weaker clubs.

The league also reversed course and instructed clubs not to pay players who were injured during training camp. As previously reported, players will receive any signing bonuses in their contracts.

Both sides brought new faces to the table Tuesday. Goodenow was joined by Mike Gartner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the president of the NHLPA, and Kelly Miller of the Washington Capitals, a vice president of the union. Bettman was joined by owners John McMullen of the New Jersey Devils, Ron Corey of the Montreal Canadiens and Howard Baldwin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Harry Sinden, the Boston Bruins’ president and general manager.

Bettman repeated his contention that massive economic changes are essential to the survival of the league.

“It’s not just small-market, big-market,” he said. “It’s large-grossing, small-grossing teams. As we have been saying all along, we need a system that enables all of our teams to be competitive.”

The NHL said last week that over the last four years, clubs have spent $1.14 for every $1 of revenue they took in. However, it has been learned that the Mighty Ducks ranked among the league’s most profitable operations last season with a surplus of about $9 million.

The Ducks--whose extremely favorable lease at The Pond offsets their low TV rights fees--and San Jose Sharks ranked 1-2 in per-game revenues. The Sharks won’t reveal details of their finances, but owner Gordon Gund last week scoffed at a report that his club had made $9 million.

Per-game revenues last season ranged from a high of about $700,000 to a low of about $250,000. The Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers were at the bottom of the scale.

The Kings lost money last season after having made $3 million on their 1993 run to the Stanley Cup finals. New majority owner Joseph Cohen would not reveal last season’s deficit.

The New York Post said in Tuesday’s editions that the NHL reported an operating deficit of $32 million for 1992-93, the last year for which complete records have been compiled. That season, salaries accounted for 61% of the league’s gross revenues. In 1989-90, the league reported a $3-million surplus, and salaries accounted for 48% of gross revenues.

An NHL spokesman said he believed the Post’s figures to be accurate.

McMullen said last week that the NHL’s total revenue for 1993-94 was $700 million, of which $440 million went to players. That would mean salaries had taken 63% of gross revenues.

Determining clubs’ profits and losses is difficult because accounting procedures vary among the 26 clubs. Terms of arena leases also vary.

The Vancouver Canucks, who are a publicly held enterprise and must reveal financial data, reported a profit of $600,000 Canadian (about $450,000 U.S.) last season. However, that might increase when final numbers are tallied.

The Canucks, who get no concession or parking revenues at the Pacific Coliseum, took in $10 million during their march to the Cup finals against expenses of $7 million. That profit covered their regular-season deficit.

The Washington Capitals said they lost $8 million last season, but they did not include revenues from luxury suites and parking. Their owner, Abe Pollin, also owns the USAir Arena, so the club can claim rent payments to the arena as an expense even though the money still goes to Pollin.

The Hartford Whalers claimed losses of $14 million last season and projected losses this season of $8 million to $10 million. They play at the Civic Center, which was owned by the city until the state of Connecticut took over the lease and gave the Whalers easy terms.

The Whalers do not get concession revenue, but as part of their agreement to stay in the state, profits from the building go back to the club.

Despite a $20-million payroll last season that was among the league’s highest--and despite losing in the first round of the playoffs--the Pittsburgh Penguins made a “slight profit” last season, owner Howard Baldwin has said. Baldwin shares ownership of the team with Spectacor, which runs the concessions at the Civic Arena.

The Dallas Stars were one playoff game’s revenues from breaking even last season, a Dallas source said.

Hockey Notes

Duck center Patrik Carnback has returned home to Sweden but his agent, Neil Abbott, said he has advised Carnback to see what happens in labor talks before pursuing possible playing opportunities. “The goal is to play here, not in Europe,” Abbott said. “If the NHL isn’t going to play, I’ll re-evaluate. Right now the idea is to sit back and wait.” Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira says Carnback would violate his contract by playing abroad. . . . Duck forward Jim Thomson said he will continue his shoulder rehabilitation under team supervision despite the league’s decision that injured players won’t be paid until games begin. Forward Steven King and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky are also affected by the change in policy.