Tuesday, April 14, 1998 | 10:04 a.m.
The Las Vegas Thunder and International Hockey League finally have settled on an arbitrator.
Now all they need is for the arbitrator to settle on a decision.
The feuding parties informally gathered this morning before arbitrator Norman Brand at the Howard Hughes Center to determine the eligibility status of star center Petr Nedved, the NHL holdout who signed with the Thunder last week.
An extended court injunction, ordered by District Judge Mark Gibbons, allowed Nedved to finish the regular season (which ended Sunday) in Las Vegas. The Thunder opens the post-season against the Long Beach Ice Dogs on Friday.
Nedved, a restricted free-agent holdout from the Pittsburgh Penguins, joined the Thunder on April 7, but he immediately was ruled ineligible by the IHL. The league contended the six games Nedved played for Sparta Praha of the Czech Elite League made him off limits. An ambiguous IHL rule states teams cannot sign players from non-North American teams after Feb. 2.
But the Thunder, citing what it believes to be a precedent, claimed Nedved's eligibility should remain intact because he was not paid to play for Sparta Praha.
"We just want to present our case, and we want him (Brand) to render a decision as quickly as it's reasonable to do so," Thunder part-owner Ken Stickney said. "Win or lose, we want to move on.
"I think that any time you have a key guy it's important to make sure he plays. But I think, very strongly, that it's equally as important to determine your available roster so you can establish some stability on this team and move forward."
IHL commissioner Bob Ufer, a practicing attorney and the league's former legal counsel, expected Brand to make an immediate decision after hearing arguments from both sides. Ufer said Brand has the right to deliberate, but was confident the IHL would win the case today.
"Our rules are what are rules are," Ufer said. "I'm very hopeful the arbiter will defer to the league office's decision.
"The reason I'm in the position I'm in as commissioner is to interpret the rules for the benefit of the league and our teams. I do so with capricious determination, and I'm confident the arbiter will reaffirm the league's interpretation."
Ufer claimed there was more at stake this morning than Nedved's status. He felt the IHL needed to make a statement that its implementation of the rules should not be questioned by outside mediators.
"It's very hard to manage an athletic league in which its decisions go to court and arbitration," Ufer said. "Our job is to make these decisions every day. If every one of these decisions -- and there are hundreds every year -- goes to court it becomes very expensive and internally inconsistent.
"Very candidly, the rules issue is more important than the eligibility issue."
Stickney said the Thunder likewise is confident in its position.
"We don't think Nedved's eligibility violates either the spirit or the letter of the law," Stickney said. "There's nothing magical about playing in Europe. It's not like he's a purebred or anything like that just because he was there and not here."
Thunderbolts
* WITH HONORS: The Las Vegas Thunder held its annual awards dinner Monday night with Patrice Lefebvre walking away with the most hardware. The IHL's scoring champion received the team MVP, most popular player and three stars awards. Left wing Jeff Christian received the community service and booster club awards. Other winners included captain Joe Day as players' player, Sergei Yerkovich as outstanding defenseman, forward Trevor Roenick as rookie of the year, goaltender Manny Legace as unsung hero and forward Trent McCleary for hustle.
* TICKET INCREASE: Due to false information provided by the Thunder, home playoff ticket prices were incorrectly listed Monday. Seats for Games 3 and 4 ( if necessary) of the Thunder's best-of-5 first-round series with the Long Beach Ice Dogs cost $12, $15, $18 and $24. Tickets are available at the Thomas & Mack Center box office and TicketMaster locations or by calling the Thunder at 798-7825 or TicketMaster at 474-4000.
* LOOSE PUCKS: The Imperial Palace gives the Thunder 50-to-1 odds to win the Turner Cup. The Ice Dogs are 2-to-1. The Detroit Vipers are favored at 8-to-5. ... The Thunder holds open practices Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Santa Fe Ice Arena.
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