Thursday, April 9, 1998 | 9:21 a.m.
The Las Vegas Thunder and International Hockey League are heading for a showdown over Petr Nedved's eligibility.
Nedved, a restricted free-agent holdout from the Pittsburgh Penguins, joined the Thunder on Tuesday. But the IHL ruled the star center was ineligible, citing a league rule barring the acquisition of players from non-North American teams after Feb. 2.
The Thunder filed a court order that allowed Nedved to play Tuesday night. He recorded a goal and two assists in an 8-3 loss to Long Beach.
The injunction was for one night only. The Thunder and IHL will attempt to resolve Nedved's status by seeking an arbitrator's final ruling before Friday night's game against Utah.
"We just want to put it behind us and go forward," IHL chief operating officer Doug Moss said. "Disputes happen even in families. Intelligent people can agree to disagree, and that's the situation we have here. It's necessary to bring in a third party."
If an arbitrator cannot review the case by Friday, the Thunder will ask District Judge Myron Leavitt to extend his injunction through the weekend. Las Vegas will finish its regular-season schedule with three games in three nights this weekend.
"We really feel that we're right," Las Vegas part-owner Ken Stickney said. "We're passionate about this."
The dissension revolves around six games Nedved played for Sparta Praha of the Czech Elite League before signing with Las Vegas.
According to the IHL, there are three stipulations a team must follow in signing someone who has played for a non-North American team during the 1997-98 season:
* The player in question has to be added to the roster by Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. PST.
* He has to be under contract, registered by the IHL and living in North America by the deadline.
* He also has to remain in residence for the remainder of the regular season and the Turner Cup playoffs.
The IHL claims the Thunder violated all three stipulations: Nedved was not added to the Thunder's postseason roster until late last month; he was not signed until Monday; he did not arrive in North America until Tuesday.
"The (purpose of) the rule is so people can't be playing in Europe, have their season end and then come over and join IHL teams at the end of our regular season or the playoffs," Moss said.
"We don't want people coming in and bumping other IHL people off the roster. We don't want to upset the things that make up the balance of the team."
The crux of the Thunder's argument is in the definition of Nedved's European playing status. The Thunder contends Nedved was not paid by Sparta Praha and claims to possess sworn affidavits as proof.
Arbitrator John Sands issued a 12-page ruling on Jan. 13 in regard to Nedved's NHL eligibility. The NHL ruled in December that Nedved violated its labor agreement by playing four games with Novy Jicin, an amateur Czech team.
But Sands ruled that because Nedved was not paid for his services, he was not considered a "player." Instead, he was a "guest."
"Our whole point is that Petr Nedved went for a definition of the word 'play' by an arbitrator, and basically the arbitrator determined that 'playing' means 'getting paid for play,'" Stickney said.
"On the basis of the arbitrator's judgement, Petr went out and skated for Sparta Praha and did not compromise his status."
If the final ruling coincides with the Thunder's interpretation, the three-step criteria is moot.
"Whatever the arbitrator decides, I'll abide, and you won't hear one bitter word from me," Stickney said.
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