NEW YORK - The NHL fined Steve Belkin, one of the Thrashers owners, $250,000 on Tuesday for saying the league could use replacement players next season, the Associated Press reported.
"I deeply regret the comments I made to the Boston Herald, which were my personal, uninformed views and not those of the Atlanta Thrashers' ownership and management nor those of the National Hockey League," Belkin said in a statement.
Belkin said the league had a solution for next fall if a collective bargaining agreement wasn't reached.
"If we reach an impasse and it goes on for a year, we will attempt to bring in other players," Belkin said in Sunday's edition. "That's not good for anyone. That's a last resort. But if that's the only alternative, say, a year from now, we'll probably proceed with doing that and then hopefully start building up the caliber of the players over a period of time."
Ted Saskin, senior director of the players' union, said Belkin's statements are "consistent with what we've suggested is their strategy."
"This puts the lie to what they've been saying," Saskin said. "They will stick to their demand for a salary cap and try to implement one in the future. We fail to see how one can expect to build hockey's popularity by shutting it down for an extensive period of time ... then try to reintroduce it on a watered-down basis."
The league has denied it will declare an impasse.
"In addition to being inappropriate and irresponsible," spokesman Frank Brown said, "Mr. Belkin's comments also were factually inaccurate and do not reflect the current views of the (NHL)."
The league previously has handed down large fines to who have spoken out of turn. Kings president Tim Leiweke was fined what he called "a significant amount" last month.
