Veteran issues are resolved, but strike continues

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003 | 9:12 a.m.

As he watched the Calgary Flames scrimmage Wednesday, Las Vegas Wranglers coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan sounded confident that the current ECHL players' strike will be resolved.

"I'm optimistic that something will happen," Gulutzan said. "I don't think it will happen within the next couple of weeks, though. It could be something that will stretch into October."

The Professional Hockey Players Association, which represents ECHL players, went on strike last month to gain an enhanced package of wages and benefits from owners.

Gulutzan said ECHL owners made a proposal last week to the PHPA and expect to receive details of a counter proposal by today.

"(Owners) moved on some issues," Gulutzan said. "I don't know how much, financially ... but I know they moved on some veteran issues."

Last season, ECHL teams had a weekly salary ceiling of $10,000. The league has favored lowering that to $8,000, while the players wanted a salary floor of $8,500. Another issue has been a cap on the number of veterans allowed on each team.

Commissioner Brian McKenna is adamant about keeping the ECHL as a developmental league, along the lines of the Double-A level of baseball, instead of a stage for aging vets to earn paychecks in the twilight of their careers.

Larry Landon, executive director of the St. Catharines, Ontario-based PHPA, could not be reached for comment.

The Wranglers, one of the newest additions to the 32-team ECHL, hooked on with Calgary last month and will feed the Flames' American Hockey League affiliate in Lowell, Mass.

This week, the Flames began training camp in the Saddledome.

Las Vegas will play in the plush Orleans Arena. Its first games are scheduled to take place at Idaho, Oct. 17 and 18. Bakersfield is its first home foe, on Oct. 21. Training camp is supposed to begin Oct. 4.

Gulutzan doesn't believe any of those dates will have to be altered.

"I think there will be some sort of solution before any of that happens," Gulutzan said. "I'm quite positive that something should get done before then. I'm optimistic something will get done, and I think a lot of people are ... everyone is taking a positive approach.

"It could take longer than first thought, but everything will go ahead as scheduled."