TORONTO (CP) - Excerpts from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's speech Wednesday at a news conference in New York:
``For the past several years, as flaws in the current economic system have become increasingly difficult to overcome, we at the National Hockey League have done everything possible to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement that works, day-in and day-out, to serve the best interests of all involved.
Sadly, those efforts have not achieved their objective. And as the league stands at the threshold of the conclusion of the current CBA, which occurs at midnight tonight, it is my sombre duty to report that at today's meeting, the board of governors unanimously re-confirmed that NHL teams will not play at the expiration of the CBA until we have a new system which fixes the economic problems facing our game.
This action is not taken lightly - or eagerly - and when the union wants to stop the posturing and acknowledges that the problems are as real as our governors' resolve to fix them, we will be here, ready to make a fair and meaningful agreement that will usher in a new era for our game. . . .
Twenty of our clubs are losing money. There have been too many bankruptcies and too many other close calls. I have had too many owners tell me they will get out of this game if the economics are not repaired . . .
It is a fact - a fact - that during this CBA, a team in the top one-third in salaries has been three times more likely to make the playoffs than a team in the bottom third. That is a status quo with which we simply cannot continue to live. Our game and our fans deserve better . . .
There is no shortcut or quick fix. We need an enforceable, defined relationship between revenues and expenses. We need a system that will eliminate the disparities in payrolls, so that a team's ability to compete depends on its team-building skills, not on its ability to pay.
We believe that such a business model can and must be crafted in a partnership that creates shared rewards . . .
In July, we offered the union six different, creative, ground-breaking methods by which those partnership objectives could be attained.
Included in those frameworks was a willingness for the players to receive more than 50 per cent of every dollar of revenues our business generates. It may be less than the players are getting now, but we won't apologize for an offer that is more than fair.
We offered the union systems that would continue to pay multi-million dollar salaries to our star players. We will not apologize for contracts which could still be in excess of $6 million US per year, even if some players would make less than they are now getting.
We offered the union systems that would provide an average player salary of $1.3 million US per season. An average salary of $1.3 million may be less than the players are getting now, but we will not apologize for an average player salary of $1.3 million per season.
That said, we do apologize to our millions of fans and the thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on our game. It is truly unfortunate that we have to go through this. I assure you that no one is more unhappy about this situation than I am.
My pledge, at this difficult moment, is that we will correct this untenable situation the right way - not with Band-Aids and half-measures, but in a way that will ensure the health and excitement of our game for years to come. This game's future depends upon getting the right economic system. In the absence of such a system, there is no future for our game. As difficult as today is, the reality is, we had no choice in the face of the union's continued refusal to address economic problems that are clear to everyone but them . . .
There is a partnership deal to be made. We encourage the leadership of the players' union to join us in partnership . . .
We owe it to hockey's fans to achieve an economic system that will result in affordable ticket prices and stable, competitive franchises. The very future of our game is at stake, and the NHL's owners are united, as never before - determined to do everything humanly possible to bring hockey's economic system into the 21st century. We have no other choice.''