NHL Moves Closer to Canceling the Season

The 2004-05 NHL season moved a step closer to oblivion on Thursday when representatives of the league and the players’ union ended four hours of talks in New York because of what the union called “significant philosophical differences.”

The central issue in the dispute -- the owners’ desire to achieve “cost certainty” by linking salaries to revenue, and the players’ rejection of a link or other artificial controls -- looms as the reason the NHL may become the first major professional North American sports league to cancel an entire season.

The league’s lockout of players began on Sept. 15 and has wiped out 721 of 1,230 scheduled games. Its ripple effects include staff reductions in the NHL’s New York and Toronto offices, layoffs of club employees, and job losses for vendors, ushers and others whose livelihoods depend on hockey. A new labor agreement would have to be forged within the next 10 days for teams to play schedules of 30 or games.

Optimism had bloomed that a deal might be in the works after negotiators met in Toronto on Wednesday and reconvened in New York on Thursday, with provisions to meet again today. However, those hopes were dashed when the meeting broke up without a resolution and without plans to talk again.

“We continue to have significant philosophical differences. No meetings are scheduled, and we will not make further comment at this time,” Ted Saskin, senior director of the NHL Players’ Assn., said in a statement.

The league statement was more succinct: “The meeting is finished for the night. Nothing further is scheduled.”

The union delegation consisted of Saskin, union President Trevor Linden and outside counsel John McCambridge. The NHL was represented by chief legal officer Bill Daly, Harley Hotchkiss, chairman of the Board of Governors, and counsel Bob Batterman. A league source said he believed that Lou Lamoriello, general manager of the New Jersey Devils and an influential voice in NHL meetings, was involved for the second day in a row.

Although it was widely rumored that NHL negotiators would introduce a proposal, sources said they instead offered variations on the salary-cap concept. The NHLPA has vowed it will not accept a cap but has put forth plans that included a luxury tax and a 24% salary rollback. Those provisions were rejected by the NHL in December.

A proposal to impose a luxury tax on payrolls of more than $40 million with a hard cap at $50 million was reportedly discussed, but each side had major objections.

The NHL has not set a “drop-dead” date for reaching a resolution because that might be construed as not bargaining in good faith if it seeks to declare an impasse and impose labor conditions next season.