June 14, 2004 5:33 AM

That bell you hear may well be tolling for the National Hockey League

Players association head Goodenow pessimistic

The owners set the scale of salaries for the players and that is the marketplace. It has always been that way for the past 75 years or so and that is the way we are going to go forward with it.

— Bob Goodenow

When I begin thinking about a potential NHL lockout in September, why do the words "greedhead scum" come to mind? And I'm referring to those on both sides of the fence.

TORONTO -- With the Stanley Cup finals now securely in the rear-view mirror, the question still remains: Will NHL games be played next season?

NHL Players' Association head Bob Goodenow says the answer very easily could be no.

Goodenow, in Toronto for the NHLPA meetings, said the players remain firmly against a salary cap.

Management and the union have been at odds for the past 18 months over the issue of a cap. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and his negotiating team want a hard cap, while the union wants no part of it. Neither side is backing down as of yet.

Is a high-stakes game of "chicken" on the horizon?

"A salary cap is not going to be part of the plan going forward," Goodenow told Toronto newspapers for Friday editions. "That means there won't be a start of the season and there may not be a season [at all] next year. We are not going to do a cap and we are not going to do a percentage of revenues....

There are no meetings planned between the NHL and players.

"I'm optimistic we'll be able to get something done ... I'm an optimistic person," union president Trevor Linden told reporters. "I can't speak for the owners, but we're going to work hard as a union to try to avoid a lockout. We're going to try to get something done."

Um, correct me if I'm missing something here, Trevor...you're saying that you're optimistic that a settlement can be reached, AND YET THERE ARE NO MEETINGS PLANNED TO DISCUSS SAID "SETTLEMENT"?? WTF? What rabbit hole did you pop out of?

If I were King of the Civilized World, I'd take Bob Goodnow and Gary Bettman and lock them in a room with no air conditioning, no bathroom, and no food (but lots of water). There would be only one rule: no one comes out until a deal gets done. I'm guessing that something would happen before someone's bladder bursts, eh?

Of course, a Steel Cage Death Match would be far more entertaining...and we could sell tickets to subsidize the NHLPA's pension fund, eh?? Even so, isn't there already enough violence in hockey??

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on June 14, 2004 5:33 AM.

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Another DUMB@$$ AWARD wiener is the next entry in this blog.

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