NHL UPDATE: NHL LOCKOUT THREAT REMAINS SIDES' RHETORIC FEEDS LOOMING SALARY-CAP FIGHT.

Byline: A.J. Perez Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - There are only so many players' and coaches' names that can fit on the Stanley Cup's finite silver real estate.

So every 13 years the oldest ring - a portion of the Cup with those names inscribed - is taken off and put into storage at the Hockey Hall of Fame, and a fresh one is added.

A silversmith will have to perform the task again after next season. Only this time, the new piece could remain nameless for some time.

The league's collective-bargaining agreement is set to expire Sept. 15, 2004, and as soon as that happens, a work stoppage is all but certain to follow.

``You know it's out there,'' said Mighty Ducks coach Mike Babcock, whose team is battling the New Jersey Devils in the NHL's showcase event, the Stanley Cup Finals. ``This is my thought on it: Think about what we have and then think about not having it. How could anybody, anybody with common sense, let that happen? It's beyond me. How much money do you really need?''

That depends on which faction you ask.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said recently that owners spend on average ``65 or 67 percent'' of their revenue on players' salaries - the highest percentage paid out among the four major sports.

``If you're paying out more than you're taking in, you have to look at your expense components,'' Bettman said previously. ``There is no secret as to what your largest expense component is, and we're going to have to deal with it.''

He might not come out and say it, but reading between the lines, two words can be made out - ``salary cap.''

And that's not an option the NHL Players' Association is even willing to consider.

``There will never be a salary cap,'' NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow reportedly said last month in Philadelphia. ``I've told the players to be prepared for a long lockout by the owners. It may last a year, it may last two or three years, but we will never accept a salary cap.''

The NHL is the only major U.S. sport without some form of cap or revenue-sharing agreement. Some owners see the lack of such an agreement as the reason most teams - including the Mighty Ducks and Kings - are losing money.

Even worse, two franchises - the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres - were taken over by the league this season after their respective owners went bankrupt.

Factor in dipping television and attendance numbers, and the NHL finds itself in a precarious situation. It's the players union's contention that the owners have only themselves to blame for the current state of hockey.

Owners have gotten used to pocketing expansion fees paid to them for new franchises rather than taking in money from a large TV contract as other sports. In the past 12 years, eight teams have come into the league, including the Ducks in 1993-94.

There are no more markets to be had or talent to disperse, but not all teams are feeling the pinch.

Take the New York Rangers, for example. They had the highest payroll in the league at $80 million, and the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings, the top two teams in the Western Conference this season, weren't too far behind.

``It's supply and demand,'' hockey agent Pat Brisson said. ``These players have special talents, and some owners want to pay that premium for those talents. It should be up to the owner if he wants to take a chance.''

Brisson counts the league's most coveted free agent, Detroit forward Sergei Fedorov, among his many clients. Fedorov is set to go on the market July 1.

Brisson conceded not many teams will be able to afford the perennial all-star - his salary could top $12 million a year - if Detroit fails to re-sign him.

Still, a large war chest doesn't always mean success. The Rangers failed to make the playoffs but the Minnesota Wild - a team with a payroll of about $20 million - made it all the way to the Western Conference finals before getting swept by the Ducks.

``You don't have to have a superstar or a high salary to be a winner,'' Ducks general manager Bryan Murray said.

But it helps.

``We would like to have the ability to operate in comparison to the other teams in the league,'' Murray said. ``When you have a somewhat comparable salary (structure), it give more people a chance to win.''

And we're back to the salary-cap issue again.

The league and players' union have had only informal discussions, according to Bettman. Neither side seems in a hurry to get to the bargaining table.

Maybe that's because there's still 16 months before the CBA expires. Maybe it's because there is no common ground to be had at this point.