NHL owners have stayed remarkably united throughout the labor dispute that has shut down the league since Sept. 15, and that proves three things:

They recognize that getting a more owner-friendly collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players' Association is imperative if all 30 clubs are to be economically viable.

They believe commissioner Gary Bettman when he threatens to slap any owner who speaks out of turn with a six- or seven-figure fine.

They haven't delved very deeply into how the order of selection for the next entry draft will be determined.

For when topics pertaining to the draft are put into play, owners who have marched in lockstep on salary caps and linkage between revenue and payrolls will come into immediate, high-intensity conflict.

There are two widely held, and utterly polarized, positions on setting the order of selection. In most years, that's a nonissue because, aside from potential tweaking born of the draft lottery, it is based on the regular-season standings. Trouble is, there was no 2004-05 NHL season.

One contingent insists the order should be established by a simple lottery, with all 30 clubs sharing the same odds of ending up first or 30th -- or anywhere in between -- in Round 1.

The other contends it should be based on won-lost results over a stipulated number of seasons. Or, at the very least, feature a lottery weighted to favor teams that have struggled in recent years.

Super-prospect Sidney Crosby's presence as the gem of the 2005 draft class has inflamed passions even more than usual. Securing his rights could translate to millions of dollars of extra revenue -- and perhaps a few Stanley Cups -- for some club.

"Needless to say, everyone is naturally going to come up with a concept that is going to be somewhat self-serving," Phoenix general manager Mike Barnett said. "Especially when the No. 1 overall is going to be such a prized possession."

No one disputes that. Perhaps the only other thing on which there is a consensus is that regardless of which system ultimately is adopted, not every team will be pleased.

"That's pretty much impossible," Philadelphia assistant general manager Paul Holmgren said.

Executives of teams that have lost a lot in recent years cringe at the thought of Crosby going to a perennial contender. Officials of clubs that have been consistently strong believe teams that had trouble in 2003-04 were compensated for their misery with an early choice in the 2004 draft.

"All the clubs that finished the '03-04 season were appropriately 'rewarded' ... for their finish that year," Toronto general manager John Ferguson Jr. said. "That's [Alexander] Ovechkin to Washington, [Evgeni] Malkin to Pittsburgh, and so on."

Losing teams counter that the main purpose of the entry draft is to help franchises like theirs rebuild by giving them their pick of the prospects before the winning clubs begin selecting.

"The draft is intended to help the weaker teams," Chicago assistant general manager Dale Tallon said. "Definitely, I'd like to at least see the nonplayoff teams [from 2003-04] have a better chance at getting [Crosby] than the elite teams. I don't think it would be good if the elite teams got him."

He reinforced his argument by pointing out that teams that have traded for 2005 draft choices could have the value of those picks skewed if the teams from which they were acquired don't end up selecting where they had been projected in the draft order.

"We made a lot of moves last year to get ready for this draft," Tallon said. "We traded a lot of veteran players, high-priced players, to rebuild and get ready."

Ferguson, though, said there is no inexorable link between past and future performance. As evidence, he cited Phoenix, which had the fifth choice in the 2004 draft but subsequently signed free agents Mike Ricci, Brett Hull, Petr Nedved, Boyd Devereaux and Sean O'Donnell.

"How do [the Coyotes] get judged under that format?" Ferguson said.

And while Holmgren labeled the suggestion by Penguins head scout Greg Malone that there be a separate lottery for Crosby's rights, with the rest of the draft order based on results over a designated period of time, "an interesting concept," Ferguson showed no interest in it.

"I can understand the thought process, and I certainly understand the agenda," he said. "I certainly don't begrudge others in espousing ... what's best for them."

After all, 29 other clubs will be doing the same.

NOTE -- Defenseman Ross Lupaschuk, acquired from Washington nearly four years ago in the Jaromir Jagr trade, has signed to play for Mora IK in Sweden's Elitserien next season. Lupaschuk, 24, had 11 goals and 19 assists in 67 games with the Penguins' minor-league team in Wilkes-Barre in 2004-05. He has appeared in three games with the Penguins, all during the 2002-03 season. The Penguins retain his NHL rights.