October Start Contingent on New Labor Agreement

The NHL will resume play in early October only if a new collective bargaining agreement is in place, Commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday, clarifying and softening the league’s stance on the possibility of employing replacement players.

However, Bettman said using what he termed “new” players or extending the lockout that canceled this season are options if labor peace remains elusive.

Speaking after the Board of Governors met for nearly four hours at a Manhattan hotel, Bettman said the league’s primary goal is to forge a new collective bargaining agreement and end a dispute that he said is “simply about dollars and cents.” He said he would contact Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHL Players’ Assn., to arrange a series of frequent meetings over the next three weeks.

“The longer it takes to make the deal, the fewer dollars and cents there will be for the players. I’m hoping that will give a sense of urgency to the players’ association to get this done,” Bettman said Wednesday, the day the playoffs would have started if the season had been played.

“There would be no point in stalling anymore. The ownership resolve is unquestionable. The unity is there. The result is inevitable. This is going to get fixed. So let’s get it done, let’s get to the dollars and cents and let’s start planning for the season.”

Although Goodenow said calling the dispute a matter of dollars and cents was “simplistic and misleading,” he lauded the NHL for backing off the idea of opening the season with replacements.

“We have stayed out of the replacement player debate, since we thought it was a poorly conceived and ill-advised strategy,” he said. “Finally it appears the league has come to realize it would be bad for the fans, the sport and the business.”

Labor updates dominated Wednesday’s meeting.

Participants said the entry draft was not discussed, and Bettman described it as “not a front-burner issue. ... What we’re involved in is more important.” Contingency plans for employing replacement players were not discussed, either.

“At this point we’re going to prepare for the season as scheduled, with NHL players,” King President Tim Leiweke said. “At the end of the day, we’re committed to a new CBA. Despite what you occasionally read from wild-eyed lunatics, there was not one voice of contention or doubt. Everybody’s on the same page.”

Jim Lites, president of the Dallas Stars, said he believed the NHL was “getting closer to a negotiated deal with our players.” But Bill Daly, the NHL’s chief legal officer, said that the union on Tuesday modified parts of its last proposal, “some of which might be troubling, some of which is not so troubling.” He would not elaborate.

That proposal included a link between payrolls and revenues with adjustments according to yearly revenues.

If replacement players are employed, Daly said individual clubs would decide if they’d cut ticket prices. Finding replacement players “won’t be a problem,” said Bob Clarke, the Philadelphia Flyers’ general manager.

Separately, the NHL executive committee interviewed Henry Samueli, the prospective new owner of the Mighty Ducks, and was awaiting documents from Samueli’s attorneys before voting on the sale. Bettman said no snags had surfaced but declined to specify a timetable for the process. A three-fourths approval of 30 clubs is necessary for approval.

“Everything seems to be progressing,” Bettman said.