NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman "asserted his authority
in standing up for the Islander franchise" yesterday by
telling team co-Owners Howard Milstein and Steven Gluckstern
that he would "not permit the inclusion of any amount of
cash" in any deal for Islanders RW Ziggy Palffy, according
to Larry Brooks of the N.Y. POST. The league, which is
"irate" over the Islanders' attempts to strike "side deals
with Cablevision that would have undermined guidelines
regarding cash involved in player transactions," also
rejected a proposed eight-player deal between the team and
the Kings yesterday. Brooks notes that Milstein's and
Gluckstern's initial attempts to push the trade through with
the Rangers in exchange for numerous side deals involving
cash "might be considered tantamount to extortion." The
team has reportedly asked Cablevision to "dramatically
increase" the $14M annual TV rights fees it pays to the
Isles, but an MSG source said that rumors the team had asked
Cablevision to help finance a new arena in N.Y. were
"untrue" (N.Y. POST, 6/17). NHL VP/Media Relations Frank
Brown, on Bettman: "He's on the record with his position
regarding transactions. Money can't be the driving force in
a deal." Islanders co-Owner Ed Milstein met with Bettman in
N.Y. yesterday to go over "potential" offers for Palffy
(NEWSDAY, 6/17). NEWSDAY's Steve Jacobson examines the
Islanders' ownership and writes that the Milsteins and
Gluckstern have "done nothing to earn our faith." Jacobson
adds that former Marquee Group President Bob Gutkowski
"hasn't given up on buying" the team (NEWSDAY, 6/17).
