Player Vote Gives Nhl Go-Ahead

Now the NHL can start its season and the New York Rangers can raise their banner.

“To say that I’m happy is the understatement of the year,” said Larry Murphy of the Pittsburgh Penguins following Friday’s ratification by players of the NHL’s new labor agreement.

Only a simple 51 percent majority was needed to ratify the contract approved earlier this week by the players’ bargaining committee.

They got more than enough to put the deal over the top. Union spokesman Steve McAllister said that as of Friday evening, 85 percent of the players had voted to ratify. But because the votes were still being tallied, the exact number would not be known until Monday.

While ratifying the deal - clearing the way for teams to begin 48-game schedules next Friday - the players were not totally enchanted with it. Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues called it “a terrible deal.”

“I think a lot of players in the league were feeling the pressure of not getting a paycheck,” Hull said. “A lot of them were worried about what would happen if the season was canceled.”

Blackhawks teammate Chris Chelios said if the union had not approved the agreement, it could have made things even more difficult next season, especially with a close vote.”This deal is not good for any of the players and everybody realizes that,” he said. “There are going to be lot of hard feelings. It came down to a position where we had no choice. The players want to play. Bob (Goodenow) and the committee had no choice to sacrifice the season. This is the only position we were going to be in to sign a deal without the salary cap.”So, the season is on. It starts next

Friday with eight games, including the matchup in Madison Square Garden between the Stanley Cup champion Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres.

Other opening-night games: Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, Chicago at Detroit, Calgary at Winnipeg, Anaheim at Edmonton, Dallas at Vancouver, St. Louis at San Jose and Toronto at Los Angeles.

A full schedule of playoffs will begin on May 6 and the season could run right up to July 1, the latest ending in the league’s history.