NHL sides are firmly together -- and apart

NEW YORK -- More than 100 members of the National Hockey League Board of Governors caucused for five hours at the Westin Times Square yesterday, and when commissioner Gary Bettman emerged from the meeting, he said the owners remain staunchly unified in their desire to rebuild the financial landscape of the sport.

Bettman also said he plans to contact the NHL Players Association, which held its own meeting yesterday in Toronto, in an effort to get the sides back to the bargaining table.

"The sooner we [negotiate], the sooner we can stop damage, and that's good for everybody associated with the game," said Bettman, whose league became the first in professional sports to cancel an entire season because of a labor dispute. "We as a league are preparing and are committed to working forward for the 2005-06 season."

In Toronto, the expression of solidarity was just as emphatic after more than 150 players met for three hours.

"The so-called splinter faction in the union that is going a different direction has been drummed up by a lot of media members and people hoping a deal gets done," said St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Pronger. "I can unequivocally say everyone is on board and understands the issues better."

Union leaders scheduled another meeting for today in Toronto with player agents.

Bettman insisted that the NHL plans to operate next fall, but he declined to discuss the option of replacement players if there still is no deal with the union.

"We haven't decided exactly what options we would or would not pursue in the event we don't have a deal," he said. "So the option that we're pursuing most fervently -- and I hope to encourage the Players Association back to the table in the immediate future -- is to make a deal with the union, and that's what we're focused on right now.

"I believe it's in everybody's best interest to make a deal as soon as possible. This isn't about leverage or not. This is really about a deal the league can afford. That's all we've been committed to."

However, Vancouver Canucks center Trevor Linden, the president of the Players Association, said the players saw no need to rush back to the table.

"It's important for both sides to take a little time to reassess," said Linden. "Obviously the process at this point hasn't worked, and we'll step back and have a look back at how we can move this thing forward. "To get right back at it and start firing proposals, I'm not sure that's the right way to do it. To reflect, to decide which way to go, I think is important."

When the sides do get together, Bettman said, the league won't necessarily put forth a new proposal.

"We haven't focused on that yet," he said. "Maybe we need to first get back to the table and reestablish where we both are. It's an ongoing process and it's one that we, ultimately with the union, have to take to fruition."

The sooner a deal is brokered, Bettman said, the sooner the league can work on the other aspects of the game that need attention, such as rule changes and the public relations nightmare the lockout has caused. He added that the longer the standoff goes, the more likely it is that player salaries will be affected.

"The more the damage, the less money we're going to have to ultimately pay in players' salaries, so I think it's in everybody's interests to move forward as expeditiously as possible," he said. "The window of opportunity is a window that closes a little bit each day."

Both players and owners have said from Day One that they were unified in their positions. Bettman reiterated that the owners have not wavered.

"The owners had a very good session, talking to each other," he said. "They made clear to each other and to me that we must fix this and we must do it the right way."

General manager Mike O'Connell, one of the Bruins' contingent at the meeting, felt it was productive.

"It was informative," said O'Connell. "It was really just to update us on what happened, how everything took place, and really just give us an update on how everything went over the last [few months]. There were so many rumors and we were told what really happened and how it all played out.

"They want to make a deal with the union and that's their ultimate goal. We're going to retrench and get back into it and hopefully make a deal with these guys and form a partnership and grow the game like it has to be grown."

As difficult as the last few months have been, O'Connell felt the tone of the meeting was positive.

"They all want to get a deal done," he said of the owners. "They want to make sure the players understand, painful as it might be, the situation. All the owners want to play and they want to make a deal. The owners want to get this behind them and move forward and make it the best game possible."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.