Talks Are Getting Nhl Sides Closer There’s Reason For Optimism As Today’s Deadline Nears

Free agency reportedly was the final major sticking point in negotiations between NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and union head Bob Goodenow, who worked into today’s early hours in a race against the owners’ noon deadline for scrapping the season.

Canadian Press sources said the sides had tentatively agreed on previously contentious issues such as salary arbitration, rookie salary cap and the reopening of the contract.

An agent familiar with the talks told The Associated Press just before midnight that “free agency has not been resolved.” He said he understood the other issues had been tentatively settled. “They’re making good progress,” he said.

Owners don’t want players to become unrestricted free agents until they reach age 32; the union wants it to be 30.

Earlier, reports varied of what had been accomplished before the negotiators took a short dinner break. They met for 11 hours and continued past midnight.

“I hear everything is going good,” Chicago Blackhawks player representative Jeremy Roenick said. “I heard from one of the other player reps, who called a practice for Wednesday. I hear a lot of different stuff, but I’m not going to get my hopes up. Everything is just a guess situation.”

Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington was confident Bettman and Goodenow would beat the noon deadline today.

“Based on the conversations I’ve had, I think it will happen,” Pocklington said.

That owners weren’t in agreement was nothing new to the lockout, in its 101st day Monday.Owners voted 19-7 Saturday to

reject the union’s latest proposal. They then voted 20-6 to present a more restrictive counterproposal; the players rejected that Sunday, putting Bettman and Goodenow face-to-face for the first time since Dec. 6.

Curiously, one of the seven clubs that voted to accept the players’ proposal - Toronto - was among the six that voted to cancel the season rather than send the counteroffer back to the players.

The Maple Leafs were making a protest vote.

“‘T’ is right at the bottom of the list, alphabetically, and the vote was already over,” Toronto general manager Cliff Fletcher said Monday. “Everyone knew what our position was going in. We were straightforward. We didn’t want to risk the type of meeting going on now (between Bettman and Goodenow). We didn’t want to risk the season going ka-poof.”

Quebec’s Marcel Aubut said his team would do better financially without a season than with an agreement that doesn’t include a salary cap. Pocklington said his club can survive only if fellow owners keep a promise to enact some form of revenuesharing in the future. Sinden and New Jersey’s John McMullen grudgingly voted to send the counteroffer back to the players.

On the other end, Philadelphia’s Ed Snider voted along with Fletcher and five others to accept the players’ proposal.

“None of the differences between the sides is major,” Snider said. “Any reasonable person would see this, find a happy meeting ground and end this ridiculous situation.”

The union’s latest offer would grant players unrestricted free agency at the age of 30 and give clubs a right to walk away from one arbitration decision a year. The proposal also would cap rookie salaries at $900,000 and give either side the right to reopen the agreement in 1998.

The owners’ latest offer would grant players unrestricted free agency at 32 and give clubs a right to walk away from two arbitration decisions annually. The proposal also would cap rookie salaries at $825,000 and give only the owners reopener rights in 1998.