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Puck Stops Here, Bettman Suggests : Hockey: Memo from NHL commissioner warns season must begin by Jan. 16 if 50 games, full playoff schedule are to take place.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman hinted Thursday that he will cancel the season when he informed union chief Bob Goodenow that it must begin by Jan. 16 in order to schedule 50 regular-season games and full slate of playoffs.

For that to occur, a collective bargaining agreement would have to be reached no later than Jan. 6-8 to allow players to regroup and get back into shape.

In the memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, Bettman does not specifically say he will cancel the season if 50 games can’t be played. There has been some sentiment among NHL executives to settle for a season of 44 or 40 games, rather than wiping it out entirely.

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League spokesman Arthur Pincus said that Bettman, in sending the memo, was acting under instructions given him by the NHL’s Board of Governors on Dec. 12, when they authorized Bettman to cancel the season if he determines 50 or more games and a full complement of best-of-seven playoff series can’t be concluded by July 1.

Although the possibility of a shorter season remains, Pincus said 50 games will probably remain the minimum.

“I wouldn’t expect the instructions to change,” he said.

Although an ultimatum was implied and not stated, the purpose of the memo was clear: to kick-start the stalled negotiations and end the lockout, which began on Oct. 1 and threatens to make the NHL the first professional sports league to call off an entire season because of a labor dispute.

Bettman and Goodenow have not met in more than three weeks, although sub-committees from the NHL and the union have met three times. Talks were to resume the day after Christmas, but Goodenow canceled them by relaying word he had nothing to discuss if the league remained intent on imposing a payroll tax or extracting more economic concessions from players.

No negotiations have been arranged. But Goodenow, replying to Bettman’s fax, said he would have union counsel John McCambridge contact NHL counsel Jeff Pash to set up a small-group meeting, “so they can continue to work on a deal without a tax and hopefully advance the negotiations to a point where it would be productive for us to meet and conclude an agreement.”

Goodenow added, “As you were aware, after Dec. 6 (their last face-to-face talk), we agreed a number of small-group meetings should take place to establish framework for a new (collective bargaining agreement). My information was that substantial progress was made towards a deal without a tax until discussions broke off on Dec. 17.”

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In those small-group sessions, Pash and Cliff Fletcher, the general manager of the Maple Leafs, floated the idea of eliminating the tax if players would make concessions that would slow salary growth, mostly in the area of salary arbitration. Players contended they have already made major concessions and resisted the idea, ending the talks.

Speculation arose as to whether Bettman was setting a firm deadline or simply trying to spark action. On Dec. 12, he estimated that a deal had to be made in seven to 10 days. That period has long since passed.

A union-allied source said it appeared that Bettman, by not specifically saying Thursday that he will refuse to start a season of any length if it can’t start by Jan. 16, avoided setting a deadline because he doesn’t want to give bargaining leverage to Goodenow. But a league source denied that.

“If the union is thinking we’re ready to go lower (in the number of games) that’s a mistake in thinking,” the league source said.

In any case, it appears that the next talks will be crucial in determining Bettman’s course of action.

“We’re running out of time, if we haven’t run out of time already,” King co-owner Joe Cohen said. “Gary’s making it perfectly clear he’s willing to meet to try to resolve this. I applaud that, and I hope Bob takes him up on it.

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“We shouldn’t be lingering on semantics. We should be trying to play hockey under a system that works for everybody.”

Bettman’s memo, which followed a brief phone call he made to Goodenow, refers to cuts that have reduced the schedule from 84 games to 60.

“In fact, since we last met in Chicago on Dec. 6, at least eight additional games have probably been lost,” he wrote. “As you know, we have been constantly reviewing and updating scheduling options.

“We are now at the point that, based on building availability, the regular season must begin by Jan. 16 in order to schedule 50 regular-season games and full playoffs. The length of time permitted for training camp will determine how much time remains to reach an agreement.

“As we have repeatedly told you during this process, and as I told you this morning, we remain prepared to meet at any time. When you are prepared to resume negotiations, please let Jeff Pash or me know.”

No talks are likely until Tuesday because of the New Year’s holiday. Most members of the NHL’s negotiating committee have scattered to vacation sites or to scout the world junior championships in Red Deer, Canada.

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