NHL Situation Seems to Be Getting Worse

Animosity between the NHL and the players’ association increased this week with the union filing an unfair labor practice complaint against the league to the National Labor Relations Board, according to an NHL source.

The league, meanwhile, moved to muzzle owners and team representatives, as King President Tim Leiweke said he was fined an undisclosed amount by Commissioner Gary Bettman for comments he made last week on a radio show.

In a complaint filed with the labor board Tuesday, the union said the NHL failed to provide a list of locked-out players it requested one day earlier. The source said the league responded by saying union representatives could figure out on their own which players were locked out.

The NHL could face sanctions or fines if it was determined that the league was not negotiating fairly. The union is trying to force the NHL to provide a list so players would know their status, the source said.

Some players under contract are eligible to play for minor league teams. For example, the Ducks’ Joffrey Lupul and Stanislav Chistov and the Kings’ Mike Cammalleri and Tim Gleason have been assigned to affiliates in the American Hockey League. All spent at least part of last season in the NHL but can be sent to the minors without being put on waivers.

The union is seeking to ensure that all players eligible to be sent to the minor leagues are allowed the opportunity to play, the source said.

NHL spokesman Frank Brown declined to comment.

Meanwhile, as the lockout moved into its second week, both sides seem entrenched. The league is seeking “cost certainty,” which the union views and opposes as a salary cap.

Bettman has said that the players need “a period of sober reflection” and that further negotiations would happen “at an appropriate time.” Bob Goodenow, the union’s senior director, said in a television interview that there was no point in talking because Bettman ended the last session by saying the sides were not speaking the same language.

Bettman’s language to Leiweke was apparently clear.

In an interview on a Southern California radio station last Friday, Leiweke called union chief Goodenow “a bald-faced liar” and said the lockout “will go a whole year, and a year from now we are going to have to make tough decisions as to where we need to go.” He also made comments referring to the troubles the teams have suffered under the current collective bargaining agreement.

Leiweke later said his comments were in reference to the Kings, not the league. Bettman, however, viewed it differently.

“It was Gary’s way of letting us know that making public comments on the issue doesn’t help,” Leiweke said. “I agree with him.”

Leiweke said the fine was for a “significant amount.” The NHL previously fined him for opening the Kings’ financial records to The Times.

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The Kings canceled their Oct. 23 game against Phoenix on Thursday. The game was part of the team’s “Hockey Day in L.A.” promotion where the Kings, Manchester, their minor league affiliate, and a youth team would play on the same day at Staples Center. Manchester and the youth team are still scheduled.