Sunday, September 14, 2003

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Rare is the issue brought to Steve McKenna's attention that fails to prompt a smile, a joke, a playful gesture of some sort. But mention the potential for an NHL work stoppage next year, and he turns as serious as if he is about to drop the gloves.

"The players know what's coming, and the owners know what's coming," he said. "I'm sure no one wants to see it."

McKenna, a 6-foot-8 left winger who serves as the Penguins' main enforcer, is bracing for a battle he know will be more difficult than any he has fought on the ice. He is the team's player representative with the NHL Players Association, and it will be his responsibility to keep his teammates informed about all events and issues leading up to the expiration of the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement.

What frustrates him most at the moment is that he has nothing to report. That is because, even though the CBA ends Sept. 15, 2004, a year from tomorrow, there has yet to be one meeting between NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA chief Bob Goodenow. And if they cannot even agree on when and where to exchange unpleasantries, there is little cause for hope that the 2004-05 season can be salvaged.

"It's just a matter of getting the two heads together," McKenna said. "It couldn't hurt, right? It couldn't hurt for both of them to just sit down, have a cup of coffee and say, 'Hey, here's where we are.' I'm not a businessman to know how that works, but ... I do know that I don't want to see the season washed away. Nobody does."

No one has started brewing that coffee yet, but there are recent signs that movement is coming.

NHL officials are indicating they would like to begin setting the framework for talks in November, possibly through a written proposal to come to the table. That would be well before the deadline of May 15, 2004, for the league to notify the union that it intends to terminate the existing CBA, which it will do. The union is not obliged to respond to such a proposal at this stage, but Goodenow would not be eager to cast himself -- and the players he represents -- in the villain's role so early in the process by ignoring it.

Even if they do sit at the table this fall, though, that will be taken by few as a sign that an agreement will occur. The differences between the sides are enormous and, many feel, insurmountable without the pressure of a work stoppage.

"I hope it doesn't happen," McKenna said. "I don't want to see that season wiped away, and I can guarantee you that 700-plus players in the league feel the same way. There are millions of fans who want to see hockey, too. I think both sides have to realize that. Look at baseball. Who knows if they've made up for what they lost after their work stoppage all these years later? If the owners lock us out, it's going to be tough for hockey, but ... we'll see what they want to do."

Mario Lemieux is in the unique position of being player and owner, although he has made clear that he takes the owners' perspective of the CBA. Like other owners, he is not permitted to discuss the issue in detail because of a Bettman gag order. But he did share McKenna's plea for movement on both sides.

"I'm optimistic something's going to be done," Lemieux said. "I'm optimistic that both sides are going to realize that something has to be done, and I think they'll come to the table and make a deal."

Icy chips

Latest from the never-ending Billy Tibbetts saga: The Florida Panthers invited him to camp on an AHL/ECHL tryout basis but, before he could report, he was arrested Wednesday in Quincy, Mass. Police charged him with failure to stop for police and a license-plate violation. Tibbetts then failed to report for fitness testing Thursday.

The Coyotes were impressed enough with the four games Jan Hrdina played for them after being acquired from the Penguins in March that they nearly doubled his salary this week. He signed a one-year contract worth $2.2 million with a team option for 2004-05. He made $1.25 million last season.

Phoenix's payroll is down to $37 million after several budget-paring moves, notably the dumping of Teppo Numminen, and one source close to the team said that figure will go even lower. This, despite the Coyotes moving into a new arena in December.

More ex-Penguins scattering: Jamie Pushor is trying out with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Shawn Heins signed a two-way deal with the Atlanta Thrashers. Most prominent among those still unsigned: Kent Manderville.

Jaromir Jagr confirmed upon reporting to Washington's training camp Thursday that the Capitals were close to trading him to the New York Rangers this summer. But he insisted to reporters he would not enter the season feeling ill will toward his employer: "If I was the owner, I would try to do the same thing. There are no hard feelings." Jagr, who is due $55 million on the final five years of his deal, has yet to score 40 goals, produce 80 points or win a playoff round in two seasons with the Capitals.

Florida defenseman Paul Laus, last of the original Panthers from the 1993 expansion draft, soon will announce his retirement at age 32 because of a major injury to his right wrist. A fierce competitor, he was the Penguins' second-round pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft and, for the record, the last player they took in that round to go on to a productive career in the league.

The Penguins are not the only NHL team conducting camp in the area. The New York Islanders reported Thursday to Wheeling, W.Va., where they will train daily at the Civic Center. General manager Mike Milbury explained that the Islanders left Lake Placid, N.Y., their previous home, because "we were looking for a different locale not as resort-like as Lake Placid."

Only 26 days until the puck drops between Lemieux and Jason Allison.

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