NHL Players Offer a 24% Salary Cut

A proposal by the NHL Players’ Assn. to cut members’ salaries by 24% for the rest of their contracts and accept a luxury tax that would start at 20% and hit 60% for clubs that repeatedly exceed a $45-million threshold was termed “a starting point” Thursday by Commissioner Gary Bettman, who said the league would offer a counterproposal Tuesday.

Bettman’s lukewarm response to the offer presented during a 3 1/2 -hour meeting at the league’s office here didn’t bode well for a quick end to the owners’ lockout, which threatens to cancel the season.

Although the union said the salary rollback would save owners $528 million in salaries over the first three years of the proposed six-year deal and would set a lower basis for future salary increases, Bettman called it a “one-time element.”

He repeated his opposition to a luxury tax on the basis it’s unpredictable, doesn’t end disparities between rich and poor clubs and wouldn’t bring about the cost certainty he seeks after clubs lost a collective $497 million the last two seasons.

“If Gary says there is no program he can find that would work for his teams that would include a luxury tax, then there could be a problem,” Bob Goodenow, the union’s executive director, said at a news conference.

“We believe that this proposal, as we put it together, is a basis for a new collective bargaining agreement and for hockey to begin.”

Goodenow said funds collected by the luxury tax would be redistributed to lift clubs that rank in the bottom in revenue to within 30% of the average revenues of the top-earning clubs.

Also, the proposal would cap entry-level salaries at $850,000 and bonuses at $212,500, a savings he estimated at $400 million over six years. It would limit qualifying offers to mid- and high-range players to 105% and no increase, respectively, an estimated savings of $285 million.

Bettman lauded the union for recognizing the league’s “economic condition” and said he and other NHL executives would carefully study the 235-page proposal before responding next week. In the meantime, clubs can continue to book other events on dates they have saved for hockey in the next 45 days.

“The process we’re engaged in, unfortunately, isn’t about saving the season. It’s about saving this league and its 30 franchises long-term, and we have to make the right deal and have the right system so we can have a healthy, competitive game going forward,” Bettman said.

His idea of the right deal is “a partnership between the league and the players with a definable relationship between revenues and expenses,” which players have interpreted to mean a salary cap. Bettman declined to specify the latest point for saving the season or risk becoming the first major U.S. professional league to cancel an entire season because of a labor dispute. A 103-day lockout delayed the start of the 1994-95 season until mid-January and cut clubs’ schedules to 48 games.

“When we have a deal, we’ll then see what we can do about some semblance of a season,” Bettman said, “and if we can’t have a season because the deal came too late, then we’ll get ready for a new era when next season starts.”

King forward Trent Klatt, a member of the union’s negotiating committee, said the 24% salary cut was a tough sell but necessary.

“We took a look at all the issues they had and at the end of the day, we figured we felt comfortable giving them that in order to try to salvage the season,” he said. “A lot of players are going to lose a lot of money.... It’s a tough pill to swallow and a significant move on the players’ part.”

Steve Rucchin, the Mighty Ducks’ co-player representative, said players “gave up too much, but we’re trying to get something going.... They would be crazy not to take a good look at this. We gave up major concessions. They need to be part of the solution as well.”

Under the union’s plan, the Ducks’ 2004-05 payroll would be cut from $39.965 million to $30.373 million. The Kings’ payroll would shrink from $34.890 million to $26.516 million.

“If they come back with a salary cap, there probably will be no season,” said Ottawa forward Daniel Alfredsson, another member of the union’s negotiating committee. “We gave everything we had.”

Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this report.