THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Bettman Hopes Missed Checks Will Melt the Players’ Resolve

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has taken a rigid stance in collective bargaining talks to date, but watch him get even tougher now.

Players would have gotten their first paychecks last Saturday, and Bettman figures they will crumble when they miss another. He might be right. Players are restless enough that some have agreed to play in Europe and risk injury that could void their NHL contracts. Only high insurance costs and low wages are keeping players from flocking to the International Hockey League.

The first rumble of discontent surfaced when some players wondered why Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHL Players Assn., needed five days to come up with his last proposal, which was hardly different from his previous plan. The league rejected it last Tuesday and there have been no talks since.

Goodenow has been busy keeping players informed and in line. After several clubs opened their books to players as evidence of their economic woes, Goodenow told them not to believe what they saw because the books had been manipulated. He also went to Chicago last week for a pep rally.

From here on, Bettman will try to magnify players’ doubts and bludgeon the union into submission.

He had promised a new deal would include retroactive compensation for the economic givebacks he ordered Aug. 1, but he hinted he’s no longer inclined to restore the givebacks. Some club officials said he went too far in proposing a 3% levy on the gate receipts of the top 16 revenue-earning clubs, so he might erase that from his next proposal. No deal he offers will be as good as what players might have gotten two weeks ago.

His lone compromise will be reducing the high end of the payroll levy rate if players accept a salary structure covering their first three years. In his last proposal, the rate topped at 122%. When Bettman brings that down, he expects players to back down, reasoning that it’s better to have salary controls than no salaries at all.

Owners have been grumbling less than players. Clubs that lose money can be patient because they lose less in a lockout than if they played. Clubs that make money are fretting over potential losses, but Bettman calms them with promises of salary restraints. Players predicted the owners would crack when they had to issue ticket refunds, but Bettman delayed that by using the term postponement instead of lockout, and avoiding cancellations.

Compared to other major sports, hockey always used to seem quaint. Only once, in a 10-day strike in 1992, did players fight for the free agency and arbitration that baseball players have had for so long. High salaries turned other athletes into overgrown, self-absorbed children, but hockey players were unpretentious and almost naive. The play was the thing, not the pay.

Now, it’s just another business whose owners trample tradition in their rush to see the often tricked-up bottom line on their financial reports.

A BUNCH OF CHEAPSKATES

Ordinarily, Brian Downey--a 26-year-old career minor leaguer playing in the Colonial Hockey League--would have been thrilled to be promoted to the NHL. But when the Ottawa Senators recalled him on Oct. 7, the start of the season had been delayed and players were not being paid. By putting him on their roster, the Senators avoided paying Downey’s $30,000 salary. Downey isn’t a member of the NHLPA, so he’s ineligible for union benefits.

That’s as vindictive as it gets. If Downey’s salary is the difference between profit and loss for the Senators, they don’t deserve a franchise. An NHL spokesman said Ottawa would be told to rescind the promotion and restore Downey’s salary, but the meanness can’t be forgotten.

THAT’S NOT THE TICKET

The Kings claim it’s common practice for fans to pay for playoff tickets months ahead of time. It’s a practice, but it’s not commonly done that far in advance or by a team whose playoff prospects were as doubtful as the Kings’ were.

New majority owner Joe Cohen explained early billing as standard sports procedure when asked why the club required fans to pay 75% of the playoff ticket cost by February. The Kings used that money to meet their payroll.

There have been no allegations that the use was illegal, but court documents show that Bank of America--which had lent former majority owner Bruce McNall $125 million--objected to it.

The Kings missed the playoffs and did not begin issuing refunds until six weeks after the season. Some fans haven’t gotten refunds yet. The Kings did not pay interest for the time they held the money.

A random sampling of other policies: The Mighty Ducks, who were playoff contenders until the final weeks of the season, did not take playoff ticket deposits. Nor did the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Florida Panthers didn’t request money until late March. The San Jose Sharks, the last Western Conference playoff qualifier, didn’t request playoff payments until March 28. The New York Rangers waited until March 1 to send out playoff invoices.

In previous years, Edmonton Oiler fans had an option to buy playoff tickets at the start of the season for $4.50 above the regular ticket price, but in the last two years of that program, the Oilers paid interest of a point above the prime rate. That program was dropped this year.

EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULING

Hockey authorities in Sweden and Finland say they had no intention of obeying an initial ruling from Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, that European teams can’t sign NHL players. That ruling was reversed on Monday.

One likely reason is that Swedish NHL players threatened not to play for their homeland in the next World Championships if they were barred from playing there during the lockout. Finnish officials planned to sue because they feared a public outcry if they didn’t take in the Kings’ Jari Kurri and Winnipeg’s Teemu Selanne, who are regarded as national heroes.

The NHL can’t bar players from seeking other employment, but they won’t be covered by NHL insurance policies. The Jets cooperated with Selanne in securing a policy, but Kurri is on his own. The Swedish club MoDo will buy a policy for Peter Forsberg, who has the Nordiques’ permission to play.

REPAYING FANS

The Mighty Ducks are expected to announce a ticket-refund policy today, and the Kings will follow, probably Wednesday. The San Jose Sharks will also announce their policy today. An NHL spokesman said a quirk in California law requires the three clubs to announce their policies before the league-wide target date of Nov. 1. The league has not yet canceled games, but a source said that will change soon.

SLAP SHOTS

Bud Selig, baseball’s acting commissioner, describing Bettman to the Boston Globe: “He reminds me of me, but that’s no blessing.” . . . ESPN2 will continue to replace NHL games with minor league games. . . . Hockey’s combatants say they communicate enough to make a mediator unnecessary. . . . When the schedule is revised, expect neutral-site games to be cut.

The Senators tried to send 1993 top draft pick Alexandre Daigle back to his junior team but failed to list him among players they wanted to send down and recall when the season starts. The Canadian Hockey League, which governs Canada’s major junior leagues, will rule today. If he goes, he will earn $50 a week. His NHL salary is more than $2 million.