As previously noted, the NHL wanted to levy a luxury tax on salaries that were higher than the average and the NHLPA viewed that as a variation on a salary cap and refused to accept it. Unlike in the 1992 strike, it was the owners who wanted to make sure that they got the right deal and this was under a new commissioner Gary Bettman. There were a few issues that the owners wanted to work out, most of which revolved around salary caps, free agency and hoping to limit escalating salaries. Bettman's "NHL mandate was: aggressive expansion, a new American TV deal, a focus on growth (especially in the southern U.S.), and lasting labor peace … under the owners' terms, of course.". It was widely assumed that to reach this peace a salary cap would have to be in place. Bettman's insisted the owners' plan was merely a tax plan, but would result the same as a salary cap.