NHL

All quiet on NHL's CBA front

No news likely is bad news for the NHL.

By TOM JONES
Published February 14, 2005

Commissioner Gary Bettman set an unofficial deadline of the weekend to end the lockout and save the season, but the weekend came and went with no collective-bargaining agreement even though representatives from the NHL and union met with federal mediators Sunday in Washington. Now the NHL could be a day or two away from being the first North American league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute.

Reports last week suggested an announcement from Bettman canceling the season could come today. Other reports said Bettman might have a conference call with owners this week before calling off the season. Bettman already has the authority to cancel the season.

"I don't think a cancel announcement would be made as early as (today)," Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said Sunday afternoon. "There are still some things we're waiting on."

Some are hanging hopes on Bettman's words of last week: "Unless we're drafting documents reflecting the terms of the agreement, I don't see how we could play a season."

Because he did not set a hard deadline, there still could be more time to work out an agreement. The Canadian Press reported Sunday that union president Trevor Linden might try to start a final round of talks.

Given the stance of both sides, it's hard to imagine an agreement being worked out. Owners insist on a salary cap. Players say they will not accept one.

The NHL confirmed it sent a memo Friday to each team allowing contact with players - something that was forbidden. The league hopes the conversations encourage the players to put pressure on union chief Bob Goodenow to make a deal.

But as of Sunday, the day the All-Star Game was supposed to be played, the sides remained at a stalemate.

"I still hold out some hope something might get done in the next few days," Flyers chairman Ed Snider said.

DAVIE - The mother of Washington forward Jeff Halpern was one of four people killed in a fiery crash with a fuel tanker.

Gloria Halpern, 56, of Potomac, Md., was in a car that was crushed when the tanker flipped over Friday night, the Capitals said. Relatives said her brother, Alan Klein, 52, his wife, Debbie Klein, 49, both of Cherry Hill, N.J., and Anita Epstein also were killed.

The driver's side of the truck flipped onto the car, and both vehicles slid along a guardrail beside the Interstate 595 ramp to Florida's Turnpike until sparks ignited the fuel, investigators and witnesses said.

Halpern had been in Coconut Creek caring for her ailing father, and the Kleins flew in Friday to relieve her. Jeff Halpern has been playing in the Swiss Elite League during the lockout.

OLYMPIC QUALIFYING: Host Latvia scored three times during the final five minutes to beat Belarus 5-4 in Riga and clinch a spot in next year's Olympics. At Kloten, host Switzerland beat Denmark 4-2 to clinch a berth with an unbeaten record. At Klagenfurt, Austria, Andrey Samokhvalov scored to give Kazakhstan a 1-0 win over France and the final spot in Turin. The 12-team field includes the United States, host Italy, defending champion Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden.

[Last modified February 14, 2005, 01:20:17]