For the first time since mid-December, one side in the National Hockey League lockout is planning to present a formal written proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement.þþBut the proposal, which is expected to be given by the league to the N.H.L. Players' Association today in New York, is unlikely to settle the dispute, which threatens to scuttle the entire season. The lockout began Sept. 16.þþAccording to a longtime team owner who has seen an outline of the proposal, the offer will include the salary cap that the union has rejected throughout the negotiations. The owner asked not to be identified because N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman can fine any team up to $1 million for speaking to the news media about collective bargaining.þþThe owner said each team's payroll would be a minimum of $32 million and a maximum of $42 million, and no player could make more than $6 million a season.þþÿIt's cloaked in a way that will allow them to save face,ÿ he said, referring to a possible union reaction. ÿBut, when you look down under the covers, it's a hard salary cap.ÿþþA person involved in the negotiations said the meeting would include Bill Daly, executive vice president of the N.H.L.; Ted Saskin, the senior director of the union; and a lawyer for each side. Bettman and Bob Goodenow, executive director of the union, were not expected to attend. þþThe owner, speaking yesterday, said that declaring an impasse remained an option for the owners; if that were to happen, they would seek it before the National Labor Relations Board, then implement new work rules to reopen the business in the fall.þþBecause such a strategy might prompt a strike, the owner was asked whether he thought unionized players would cross a picket line to go back to work next fall. ÿOh, yes, like you wouldn't believe,ÿ he said, adding that he thought 80 or 90 percent of current players would accept the new proposal if allowed to vote on it.þþAccording to the International Ice Hockey Federation, the world governing body for the sport, 370 N.H.L. players have signed with European teams this season, although some have left those teams. The current list shows 334 N.H.L. players active in Europe. þþAs of today, the N.H.L. has missed 756 games of its 1,230-game regular-season schedule and the league's All-Star Game. No major sports league in North America has missed an entire season because of a labor dispute. The N.H.L. has declined to set a deadline for cancellation of the season.þþIf the league seeks to play a truncated season of 28 games, followed by four full rounds of playoffs, the season could begin as late as March, meaning that a settlement could even come late this month. A shorter playoff format could allow a settlement in March.þþA salary cap could mean drastic roster revisions for high-salaried teams like the Rangers, Philadelphia, Toronto, Detroit, Dallas and Colorado. In recent seasons, a few team payrolls have been around $80 million, and the highest individual salaries have been $11 million.þþThe owner said that little in the new proposal had not already been discussed with the players in four meetings over the last two weeks.þþAfter the second meeting, Trevor Linden, the Vancouver center who is president of the players union, told the N.H.L. not to waste its time presenting a new proposal if it included a salary cap.þþThe N.H.L. has used the term ÿcost certainty,ÿ a formula that would link revenue and salaries. Under the new proposal, the league is expected to propose that players receive about 55 percent of league revenues.þþ
Source: NY Times
