HOCKEY Contract for next season is unlikely

The central issue is a salary cap.
By DAN WOLKEN
THE GAZETTE
DENVER -- All anybody knows right now is that the NHL is in the midst of its playoff season. Whether it will come back in October is still a matter of opinion.
With the playoffs looming, the NHL's future is less certain than ever because of an impending labor negotiation that threatens to put hockey in a deep freeze next season. When the Stanley Cup is hoisted sometime this June, it could be the last NHL game for quite some time.
"I'm not pushing the panic button yet," Colorado Avalanche defenseman Bob Boughner said. "But I don't feel good about it right now."
The NHL's collective-bargaining agreement, which sets the parameters for player contracts and all issues related to labor, expires Sept.15, and negotiations on a new CBA have barely gotten off the ground.
League's stance
The league and its team owners claim that 19 of the league's 30 teams are losing money, and the current CBA is at fault for financial losses totaling $273 million leaguewide last season alone.
Owners want the new CBA to provide an economic system where player salaries are a fixed percentage of revenues. The NHL is North America's only major professional league without some form of a salary cap.
In an audit report prepared by former Securities Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt, NHL player salaries averaged $1.79 million last season and encompassed roughly 75 percent of NHL revenue, putting the league on a "treadmill to obscurity," he said. The NHL would like to bring that percentage more in line with the NBA (55 percent), but the NHL Players' Association sees that as a salary cap in disguise.
If no new collective bargaining agreement is reached before the Sept. 15 deadline, the NHL could have a work stoppage.
In 1994-95, the NHL had a 48-game season after the CBA negotiations led the owners to lock out the players. In some scenarios, a lockout could wipe out next season entirely and perhaps the one after that.
"Players will go as long as it takes not to get a salary cap," Avalanche defenseman Rob Blake said. "That's pretty uniform throughout the league. We've said that from Day One, and I don't think that position changes."
Alternatives
If there's no NHL next season, several players will look for work in a European professional league. A planned revival of the World Hockey Association -- which popped up as a rival pro league in the 1970s but then was folded into the NHL -- could be an option if it happens, but details are still sketchy.
Avalanche center Peter Forsberg, who won the NHL's most valuable player award last season, said he would likely play in his home country of Sweden if it appears the lockout will be lengthy.
Avalanche winger Steve Konowalchuk speculated that "half the league" would end up in Europe, and defenseman Ossi Vaananen (from Finland) said he agreed that most European players would go back home if they could sign contracts that allowed them to return to the NHL once the lockout was over.
Even Blake, a superstar making $9.3 million this season, said he would consider going to Europe or another league in North America.
"I most likely wouldn't just because of my family situation, but if I knew in December that the season was gone for a year, I might look to go elsewhere," Blake said.
Players are using their options in Europe as leverage in negotiations. Another key point is that several players said they've been financially preparing for a lockout next season and could go without paychecks for a long time.
"I've played long enough to have a little bit of money put away," Konowalchuk said. "I'm not going to go hungry for a little while."
Rainy day funds
Center Chris Gratton said the players' association has had regular meetings with its members, keeping them informed on the issues and stressing that players should save money in preparation for a lockout.
That's especially important for rookies. Avalanche first-year defenseman John-Michael Liles, for instance, is well aware that he might not play hockey next season. Though few Americans would feel sorry for Liles -- he's earning $550,000 this season, according to the NHLPA -- he said he's been careful with his finances.
Liles, who rents a room in winger Dan Hinote's house, has the most recognizable car in the Avalanche parking lot. Among all the luxury vehicles driven by his teammates, Liles drives the same Jeep he had last year as a student at Michigan State University.
"I've talked to some of the guys on the team, and they just said put a couple paychecks away," Liles said. "I've tried to be smart with my money and not really spend extravagantly right now. I've realized there's probably going to be a labor issue next year."