NHL Is Set to Replace Officials

Although the NHL has the highest-paid officials in professional sports, it is ready to use replacement referees and linesmen if it can’t reach a contract agreement with officials before the start of the season.

The league’s contract with officials expires Aug. 31, and Commissioner Gary Bettman already has confirmed that the NHL has scheduled camps for potential replacements later this month.

“We’ve made every effort to [reach a deal],” a league source said Wednesday. “We hope to have an agreement before the opening of training camp. That’s our intention, but right now we are a bit apart.”

Since Bettman took over as commissioner, a 16-year veteran official has gone from a base salary of $90,000 in 1992 to $285,000 under the league’s current deal. Salaries for first-year referees have increased from $50,000 in 1993 to $178,000 last season.

There are two key problems in negotiations. The NHL wants the new deal to be three years instead of four and the officials want to be paid if the NHL has a work stoppage during the length of the contract. With a potential lockout looming when the collective bargaining agreement for players expires in three years, the NHL does not want to make such a commitment.