The National Hockey League Board of Governors voted unanimously Tuesday to postpone Saturday's rescheduled start of the season indefinitely if no agreement with the players is in place. Commissioner Gary Bettman said play will not commence "until a satisfactory collective-bargaining agreement is reached."
Bettman said of playing a full season, "As of this moment, it's not impossible. But, obviously, with the passage of time, games will be lost. We're going to continue to review the schedule on a day-to-day basis."
On Sept. 30, Bettman postponed the scheduled Oct. 1 openers in hopes of achieving progress on a new agreement. But after three bargaining sessions, the sides are far apart on revenue-sharing tax plans to aid small-market teams.
"We had opened the window for a two-week period," Bettman said, "to try to encourage meaningful negotiations and that was not evidenced. It's clear the union is not interested in doing anything other than preserving the status quo."
Previously, camps remained open, although players refused to work out at team facilities. When asked if a lockout situation now exists, Bettman said, "Draw your own conclusions. Absolutely (it does)."
The players have been without a contract since Sept. 15, 1993. Major league baseball's season was cancelled last month after a players' strike over owners' efforts to impose a salary cap.
The governors Tuesday rejected the latest NHL Players' Association proposal, calling it "a step backward." But union executive director Bob Goodenow said, "It was clearly a step forward. That just highlights our differences."
Bettman said, "I'm hoping with the passage of a little time we can get back to the table and do some hard bargaining."
But Goodenow thought that would be fruitless, saying, "They've given us little to discuss with them in terms of their proposals." He said he will keep lines of communication open but no date for resuming talks was set. "We've always told the players that this could be a long situation. Long could be months or a year."
The league claims it made a $50.3 million profit in 1989-90 but lost $67.6 million over the past two seasons as its average salary rose from $232,000 to $558,000. The players are skeptical of these figures, which do not take into account $200 million in expansion-fee revenue shared by the teams in the 1990s.
Management officials hinted the players were divided. "So far we know what Mr. Goodenow wants," said Harry Sinden, Boston Bruins president and general manager. "We're not certain what the rank and file wants."
New York Islanders player representative Troy Loney, however, said the notion players are uninformed is absurd. "They're trying to cause some disruptions between us and that's not going to happen."
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