NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Exec Dir Bob
Goodenow dined together last night in Toronto -- no word on what
was discussed -- and the two will attend the Hall of Fame
induction ceremonies today. While there is no negotiating
session scheduled for today, Bettman and NHL Senior VP & Dir of
Hockey Ops Brian Burke will brief the league's 26 general
managers on a reported new proposal. According to the TORONTO
STAR's Bob McKenzie, "The new owner proposal will reportedly
center on entry-level restrictions and salary arbitration.
Specifically, it will put some teeth -- big, sharp ones, no doubt
-- into the players' entry-level proposals that were described by
various management types as 'toothless'" (TORONTO STAR, 11/15).
SOBERING THOUGHTS: Bruins President & GM Harry Sinden: "It
really makes me sick because if through our stupidity, all of us,
the season goes down the drain, I don't see how you're going to
save next season" (AP/BOSTON HERALD, 11/15). ....In Washington,
Dave Fay writes that "even the most optimistic observer" believes
any deal will take two weeks of constant negotiation, moving the
calendar to December 1. A three-week exhibition season would
leave a December 26 or January 1 start date, meaning that a 50-
game season "could be squeezed in but just barely." One union
official: "It's the owners who face a deadline, not us"
(WASHINGTON TIMES, 11/15)....Whalers Player Rep Pat Verbeek is
ready to leave for Europe. He is awaiting offers from teams in
Switzerland, Germany and France (HARTFORD COURANT, 11/15).
According to the NHLPA, only the Bruins' Ted Donato is the only
union rep to head to Eurpoe thus far.
WESTERN ROUND-UP: In this morning's WALL STREET JOURNAL,
John Helyar examines the financial plight of Western Canada's
franchises, focusing on the Flames. Helyar reports, "Even if the
owners win concessions, Canada's small-market teams may have lost
their grip on the fans. In Calgary, the Flames are now viewed
less as icon and more as ice-biz" (WALL STREET JOURNAL,
11/15)....According to the annual report from Northwest Sports,
the parent company of the Canucks, the team made an after-tax
profit of $921,341 on revenues of $50,378,819 in '93-94
(VANCOUVER SUN, 11/15).
