Players’ Assn., NHL Executives to Talk

In a surprise move Monday, the NHL Players’ Assn. asked for a “small group” meeting with NHL executives. The meeting was scheduled for Wednesday at an undisclosed location.

Each side said it had no proposal to end the lockout that began Sept. 15 and has wiped out half the NHL season. But with time seemingly growing short, both sides decided to meet.

By initiating the meeting, the union stands to gain public favor. The NHL had to accept or risk its being used as evidence that it did not negotiate in good faith should it move to declare an impasse in the future.

Yet, the meeting does offer a glimmer of hope for fans.

“We think it is appropriate and hopefully useful to engage in these discussions at this time,” Ted Saskin, the NHLPA’s senior director, said in a statement. “We are not meeting to present a new proposal and remain committed to reaching a fair deal that does not include a salary cap.”

Saskin, union President Trevor Linden and outside counsel John McCambridge will represent the NHLPA. The league will be represented by Bill Daly, NHL vice president and chief legal counsel; Harley Hotchkiss, chairman of the board of governors; and outside counsel Bob Batterman.

Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow are not expected to participate.

During the 1994-95 lockout, meetings between NHL and NHLPA staff members, without Bettman and Goodenow present, helped thaw a stalemate in January, leading to an agreement and a 48-game season that began Jan. 20.

“One can only hope something can be worked out,” said the Kings’ Trent Klatt, a member of the union negotiating committee. “Time is seriously ticking toward an end.”

The last talks were Dec. 14, when the league rejected a union proposal that included a 24% rollback in salaries and a luxury tax. The league made a counteroffer to set player salaries at 54% of league revenues. The union rejected that plan.

“There will be no agenda and no new proposals tabled at the meeting,” Daly said. “There’s still time, but not a lot.”

The union’s offer to meet came days after Goodenow advised players they would lose this season and possibly next season as well, according to the Toronto Sun. He reportedly told players to seek whatever deals they could get with European teams.

Goodenow may be feeling some pressure from players to save the season. Last week, Dallas Star captain Mike Modano told the National Post, a Canadian newspaper, “It’s going to be tough to come back in October and say that we’re going to stay firm. You’re going to have guys who are saying, ‘What are we doing?’ You’re going to have guys chomping at the bit to get a deal done.”

Modano backtracked a day later, saying his comments were taken out of context.

Bettman too has faced questions about strategy from a handful of owners whose teams usually turn a profit, according to a league source.

“We’re in the second pressure point right now,” a player agent said Monday. “The first was back in September, before the season was to begin, now we’re in the middle of the second pressure point. There is no need for proposals now. They just need to sit down and talk.”