NHL Might Be Resurfacing Ice

In a surprising turn of events instigated by two hockey legends, officials of the NHL and its players’ union will meet today in an effort to salvage an abbreviated 2004-05 season -- three days after Commissioner Gary Bettman declared it dead.

The sudden revival of negotiations comes amid an outpouring of concern by players and owners, who felt stung by the cancellation after coming close earlier this week to bridging their financial differences. The effort was jump-started by retired star Wayne Gretzky, now a part owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, and Pittsburgh player-owner Mario Lemieux, sources familiar with the situation said.

Late Friday, the Hockey News reported that a deal was done in principle, although the NHL Players’ Assn. denied the report. A source familiar with the negotiations said there was “a lot of work to be done.”

The NHLPA announced today’s meeting in a statement. NHL executives did not respond to e-mails. Whether the season can be saved hinges on how Bettman reacts to the details in a proposal the union was still developing late Friday night, the source said.

Bettman, NHL chief counsel Bill Daly, Gretzky and Lemieux were expected to meet this morning with NHLPA President Trevor Linden; Ted Saskin, the union’s senior director; Mike Gartner, the union’s director of business relations; and the union’s entire executive committee.

Linden and Gartner met secretly with Bettman on Thursday, a union source said, where they discussed ways to reach a deal.

That led to a proposal for a salary cap of $45 million to $46 million, plus a luxury tax of 40 cents on every dollar of salary above $40 million, to encourage teams to curb spending.

The salary cap represents a compromise between the $49 million offered by the players earlier in the week and the $42.5 million sought by owners. The cap would drop to $42 million if more than eight teams’ payrolls reach $46 million in one season.

The terms can be “tweaked” but not significantly altered, the source said, adding: “They have a framework that they are prepared to go with.”

Bob Goodenow, the union’s executive director, was not expected to take part in the talks. Well-placed sources said Goodenow told the union’s executive committee that he could not recommend such a deal, or any deal like it, and that if the committee wanted to make that deal, it would have to do so on its own.

The players’ executive committee -- Daniel Alfredsson, Bob Boughner, Vincent Damphousse, Bill Guerin, Arturs Irbe and Trent Klatt -- decided to do just that.

“Something needed to be done,” said Steve Rucchin, the Mighty Ducks’ union representative, who was not involved in the committee’s decision. “I guess there wasn’t total closure even after the season was canceled. Things were happening. I’m not surprised at all.”

Even if a tentative agreement is reached this weekend, time is growing short for staging even a fractional season, with a host of logistical and contractual matters needing resolution -- among them the 300 players who must return from European teams and the 180 free agents who remain unsigned.

Sources said training camps could be open by Feb. 28, with a 28-game season to begin about a week later. In the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, the final 28 games for the Mighty Ducks began March 7, and two days after that for the Kings.

“Realistically, the next 48 hours can have the impact to determine the next six years in the National Hockey League,” said Pat Brisson, a prominent agent. “This is huge.”

For months, the players said they would not accept a salary cap -- something in force in the thriving NFL and NBA -- while owners demanded “cost certainty.” The owners sought to link player salaries to team revenues, which would act as a brake on payrolls if television and other income continued to decline.

On Monday, Bettman announced that he would cancel the season if an agreement could not be reached by Wednesday. During a flurry of pressure-packed, 11th-hour exchanges, the players dropped their opposition to a cap, while the owners no longer demanded that salaries be linked to revenues.

With the two sides apparently closing in on a deal, time ran out, and Bettman told reporters in New York that the season was over, all offers were off the table, and the league would begin planning for a 2005-2006 season.

Gretzky and Lemieux, two of the game’s all-time greats, were said to have talked at length Thursday about how to save the season.

Lemieux is also believed to have talked with players Thursday, while Gretzky said he discussed the labor stalemate with Shane Doan, Phoenix’s union representative. Doan was involved with the believed half-dozen players who were trying to create a proposal suitable to Bettman.

What followed was a series of talks between a group of top-flight players, high-powered agents, concerned owners and influential general managers, who all tried to find a way to salvage the season.

There were also numerous calls to the union from unhappy players, who wondered why the offer to give in on the salary cap -- union executives had long opposed a cap -- wasn’t made sooner.

“There were a lot of people who really couldn’t understand how we could go so long not talking about a cap and then just change over to a cap like that,” Dallas’ Mike Modano said in the Dallas Morning News on Friday. “And a lot of people didn’t like it.”

When asked if Goodenow had the support of the union, Modano replied, “I don’t know, I don’t know. I’m not sure.”

Bettman was also fielding calls from concerned owners, including those from Montreal, Nashville, Tampa Bay and Carolina, said a source who has talked with some owners.

The owners were “devastated that the season was called off,” the source said and worried about the financial health of a league that could face irreparable damage to what was a $2.1-billion industry. The growing lack of interest among fans, plus the possibility that ESPN might not pick up its option on the next two seasons, increased concerns.

“There were a good number of owners who thought the two sides were close enough to get a deal before Bettman shut it down,” the source said.

No major American sports league has lost an entire season to labor strife. The NHL was trying again to stave off being the first Friday night.