A Time for Truce--and Golf : Hockey: Duck players and management come together on the fairways in the name of charity.

It was a gorgeous day at Tustin Ranch Golf Club--and a strange one in the history of labor relations.

With NHL owners and players in a dispute that has put the season on hold, Mighty Duck players and management laid down their arms Monday and picked up their clubs.

Fifty-one NHL games have been postponed since Commissioner Gary Bettman delayed the start of the season until at least Saturday, and Duck players will miss their first paychecks on Thursday. But they joined front-office types on the fairways for a charity tournament anyway--a testament to their support of the Disney youth hockey program the tournament benefits . . . and their affection for a complimentary round of golf.

“This event has been planned for quite a long time,” captain Randy Ladoucuer said. “We’re not in such a bad relationship with our team that we’re going to cancel something like this and hurt a charity organization like Disney GOALS.

“To tell the truth, we have a pretty good relationship with our management. I still have only good things to say about (General Manager) Jack Ferreira and (Coach) Ron Wilson and (President) Tony Tavares and the entire organization. . . . It’s unfortunate a situation like this is happening, but I don’t hold anything personal against those guys.”

Players milled about wearing caps or shirts with the NHL Players Assn. logo, only to face a counterattack from Ferreira, who dug out a black cap with a bold orange NHL logo from the back of his closet. Then he posed for a my-cap-vs.-your-cap photo with defenseman David Williams--sticking up two fingers behind Williams’ head like rabbit ears.

“There’s no animosity between our players and ourselves,” Ferreira said. “I respect their position and I think they respect ours.”

Tavares--an outspoken critic of union leadership last week--sat at the registration table for the charity tournament chatting with Bob Corkum, the players’ representative to the union and an outspoken critic of Commissioner Gary Bettman.

“It’s a little odd,” goaltender Guy Hebert said as he registered. “But the problem isn’t between Tony Tavares and myself. He’s a businessman. He’s doing the best he can to stick together with his side and we’re sticking with ours. Here in Anaheim there’s no personal animosity.”

Wilson enjoyed his first workout with his players in 11 days, but the only hockey sticks around were the ones used in a gag putting contest, and the toughest competition was in a long-driving contest.

One of the odd sights on an odd day was the presence of Terry Yake, who was traded to Toronto on Sept. 28--two days before the season was put on hold. The Maple Leafs told him it was up to him whether he reported at once, and Yake and his wife, Tanya, decided to stay in Anaheim and pack.

“The Ducks told me when I got traded they’d be short of guys and I could come on out if I wanted to,” Yake said. “It’s for a charity, and these are still all my friends.”

Before the 11 a.m. shotgun start, Tavares and Ferreira were on their way to New York, where the Board of Governors will meet today to decide whether the season will be postponed even further. Ferreira said he didn’t know what the players’ latest proposal was and wouldn’t speculate. Forward Stu Grimson, the assistant player representative to the union, didn’t know the details either, but what he knew didn’t give him much hope.

“We were so far apart coming into this, and I don’t think at this stage anybody’s willing to concede that much,” he said. “We’re prepared to hold out indefinitely, whatever that may be. Guys have resolved themselves to a long fight. But it’s impossible to speculate on how it’s going to play out.”