NHL LABOR : Neither Side Wants to Be First to Call

On the 18th day of a dispute that has wiped out 98 games and threatens to consume the season, the NHL and its players’ union couldn’t agree Tuesday on who will pick up the phone to arrange the next negotiating session.

NHL Senior Vice President Brian Burke, in Los Angeles as part of a cross-continent tour to promote the league’s point of view, acknowledged he doesn’t foresee a quick settlement.

Commissioner Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHL Players Assn., have not talked since Oct. 11, when the NHL rejected the players’ last proposal.

“I’m always an optimist, but right now I don’t have much hope or faith,” Burke said. “After we rejected their last proposal, Gary Bettman asked, ‘Is there anyone in this room who can’t afford to go a season without hockey? Is anyone unwilling to go a season without hockey?’ That is not our desire, but the fact of the matter is we’re prepared to do that.”

Burke said he has been told it’s common for negotiations to hit a lull, but he is frustrated with the delay.

“If this goes on to a serious length, it will start to look silly,” he said.

But he said he is not prepared to initiate contact.

“Our phone numbers work too, you know,” he said. “Nobody on their side has a broken finger.”

Goodenow said he won’t make the next move, either.

“Our last proposal was sent back and rejected,” he said. “They said we’d gone backward. Given that response, the league’s rejection, it’s clear they’re committed to a major fight.”

The fight centers on how to help subsidize small-market clubs. The NHL’s last plan included a gradual payroll levy that would increase at a rate of 5% for every $325,000 a team spends on salary over a negotiated figure. The top rate would be 122%.

The league also proposed a flat 3% levy on the gate receipts of the top 16 revenue-earning clubs, to be credited against the payroll levy. Minimum payroll levels would be established to ensure players’ salaries would not decrease from current levels.

The union contends that formula would punish teams with high payrolls and drive down salaries. Its last plan also featured a graduated payroll levy of up to 7% on the top four revenue-earning clubs. Its gate receipts levy was also 3%.

King defenseman Marty McSorley, a member of the NHLPA’s negotiating committee, repeated players’ claims that owners exaggerate their financial straits to provide a reason to limit salary growth.

“There’s a ton of money that’s there and they’re disguising it. A ton,” he said. “How many teams are reporting losses, and what are the losses for teams whose arenas are owned by the same owner? We want them to make money. Just don’t put us in shackles to do it.”

Said Burke: “We understand each other. We just can’t agree on a damn thing.”

Hockey Notes

The Kings and Mighty Ducks will release ticket refund information today or tomorrow, as will most NHL clubs.