THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Not Only Fans’ Heads Are Spinning

Funny, wasn’t it, that the Flyers and Whalers “accidentally” faxed to reporters last Thursday an NHL memorandum advising general managers what to say about the labor talks.

Sure, it could have been a mistake. They really meant to fax their lunch orders and hit the wrong buttons on the phone.

No tuna on whole wheat, and no error. It was part of an NHL public relations drive to put a positive slant on its position in the labor dispute.

Most clubs called news conferences last week so executives could spout the party line. Of course, they all obeyed a previous memo that told them they are free to make public statements, but added, “It is critical that we continue to present a united front.”

The players association is equally eager to put its spin on things. Every time a player appears on TV, he wears a cap with an NHLPA logo on it. And a sweat shirt. And a jacket. And says owners are making so much money off TV fees and merchandise, the league can’t be losing money, as it claims.

In the first stage of the PR campaign, each side blamed the other for the lack of talks over the summer. Copies of correspondence from the NHL to the union detailing the union’s supposed refusal to meet landed in the hands of selected reporters.

Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHLPA, responded by saying the NHL knew all along he wouldn’t meet if a salary cap was part of its proposal, and the cap was always there.

Then came the dueling calculator phase. The NHL says it gave Goodenow the financial data he wanted. He says he got nothing regarding profits and losses. Then the New York Post obtained information showing that the NHL lost $32 million for the 1992-93 season. Days later, Commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledged that the figure didn’t count $100 million in expansion fees gouged from Tampa Bay and Ottawa.

Worst of all was the name-calling stage. Players started it by criticizing Bettman’s stature, his lack of hockey knowledge and his wife’s supposed love for shopping. They went too far when Chris Chelios implied Bettman’s family might be in danger. Chelios later apologized.

Management replied by insulting Goodenow. Boston’s Harry Sinden called him “hopeless.” John McMullen, owner of the New Jersey Devils, said he was not “an intelligent union leader.” Bettman apologized--but only for McMullen.

Now is the conspiracy-theory stage. Union backers claim Bettman is in cahoots with top baseball negotiator Richard Ravitch to impose a salary cap, because getting one in hockey will set a precedent for Ravitch to get one. Owners are saying that Goodenow has been led astray by Donald Fehr of the baseball players union, claiming Fehr has directly instructed hockey players on strategy. The union laughed that off.

Had they put as much energy into negotiating as they have put into campaigning, the season would be under way by now.

TAKE A MEMO

That misdirected NHL fax, written by NHL senior vice presidents Jeff Pash and Brian Burke, listed the key issues and how to rebut what players say.

The highlights: Management says Goodenow has withheld crucial aspects of the league’s offers, including guarantees that players won’t make less in salaries than they do now. Said the memo, “ALL of this information has been omitted, as far as we can tell, in any union briefings to players and agents.”

It also repeats McMullen’s claim that Mike Gartner, president of the NHLPA, acknowledged that the league’s plan is not a salary cap. Gartner has not commented.

In response to players’ claims that the NHL’s rising marketing revenues make the league financially sound, it says, “The figure of $1 billion represents gross retail sales figures. The players presently participate in this revenue. The actual net to each club is approximately $1 million. In addition, the players have their own licensing program, which generates several million dollars.

“Licensing sales figures for major league baseball approach $4 billion, and licensing sales figures for the NBA and NFL approach $3 billion.”

A VOTE AGAINST THE SENATORS

It doesn’t say much for Ottawa that Radek Bonk turned down a three-year contract worth about $3 million to play for Las Vegas of the International Hockey League, where he will earn about $200,000 per season.

Not only do the Senators lose a potential scoring leader in Bonk, the third pick in June’s draft, they must cope with Alexei Yashin’s trade demands and the prospect that Alexandre Daigle will flop. Daigle, who signed last year for $12.5 million over five years, was benched during the exhibition season.

STRANGE WEATHER

Let’s say the season is extended to make up delayed games. Let’s say it goes into July. Let’s hope Boston Garden can hold up in the heat.

On May 24, 1988, a Stanley Cup final game between the Bruins and Edmonton Oilers had to be suspended because of a power failure in the Garden. The series had to shift back to Edmonton, where the Oilers won the Cup.

If the Garden--which is in its farewell season--couldn’t hold up through a hot May night, what might happen in June or July?

Many NHL teams can’t maintain good ice surfaces in the early and late months of the season, when the weather is warm. Their ingenuity and their ice-making equipment will be sternly tested if they are still playing when the calendar says it’s summer.

SLAP SHOTS

The Minnesota Moose, a first-year team in the IHL, offered Mike Modano and Neal Broten of the Dallas Stars $1,000 a game to play in St. Paul while they are locked out. Both considered it but are almost certain to pass it up because of insurance considerations. In addition, if they were injured while playing for the Moose, their NHL contracts could be voided. . . . Cliff Fletcher, Toronto’s general manager, deserved his three-year extension. He is a smart, aggressive trader who molded a non-playoff team into a conference finalist each of the last two seasons.

Players aren’t being paid, but referees and linesmen--the principals in last year’s labor dispute--are getting paychecks. . . . Still to be determined: whether teams that sent draft picks back to their junior teams to stay in shape will be allowed to recall them. Usually, after junior-age players are returned, they can be brought back only under emergency conditions. . . . Insiders say that Neil Smith, the Rangers’ president and general manager, won’t be hurt by the shake-up that left Knick boss Dave Checketts in charge of Madison Square Garden.