Tuesday, February 15, 2005

NHL players accept cap, but no deal yet

Union leader says the two sides remain divided by $12 million on the salary issue

By Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

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DETROIT -- NHL players finally are willing to accept a salary cap.

The key issue that has stalled negotiations between the NHL Players Association and the league disintegrated Monday night when the union offered a $52 million salary cap for each team, NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin said in a statement.

And though that $52 million offer was rejected by the owners, there is reason for optimism that the season can be salvaged since the players appear willing to surrender on the key issue.

According to the NHLPA, the players' offer followed an earlier proposal from the owners that called for a $40 million cap, but did not include a fixed link between player salaries and league revenues. That link had been a fixture in the owners' proposals until Monday.

The NHLPA, in a statement, called that a "significant move in the players' direction."

But later, Saskin said, "It is indeed unfortunate that with the major steps taken by both sides today we were unable to build enough momentum to reach an agreement.

The union's offer also included the 24-percent salary rollback on all existing contracts. With the rollback, it is estimated that approximately two-thirds of the league's 30 teams would be under a $40 million payroll.

Essentially, the two sides are now separated by $12 million with their proposed salary caps.

Earlier Monday, the NHL announced that commissioner Gary Bettman would hold a news conference in New York at 1 p.m. Wednesday. The league gave no details about what would be said, but there was considerable speculation that Bettman would announce that the season woule be cancelled.

Jimmy Devellano, the Red Wings' senior vice-president, was hopeful Monday that an 11th-hour settlemen could be forged.

"There's time to find a way to get this settled," he said.

If the season were canceled, the NHL would become the first North American pro sports league to lose an entire season because of labor problems.

You can reach Ted Kulfan at (313) 223-4606, or tkulfan@detnews.com.