DETROIT – Gary Bettman doesn’t give up much when he asked about perceived weaknesses of the National Hockey League. But the NHL commissioner opened his State of the Union address at the 2009 Stanley Cup final with an admission that, yes, the NHL’s drug program needs to be stronger.

Asked if the league was ready to move to offseason testing, a tactic that is absolutely necessary before a league can say it does not have a performance enhancing drug [PED] problem, Bettman admitted that might be a necessary step. He indicated, however, that the NHL Players’ Association has thus far put up a road block.

“We don’t believe there is a [PED] problem in this league,” Bettman said on Saturday, “but I acknowledge that our testing program could be more comprehensive.

“It is time, we believe, that the Players’ Association step up and agree to make the changes that the World Anti-Doping Association [WADA] has recommended that we make to make the program even more comprehensive than it is."

That means a longer list of prohibited drugs, and offseason testing.

NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly shot back later Saturday.

“The NHLPA will be discussing drug testing with our membership this summer [at the NHLPA’s general meeting in Las Vegas],” Kelly said in a statement emailed to news outlets. “The NHL did not want to include playoff testing when the joint program was first collectively bargained back in 2005, as they deemed that the testing would be a distraction, and that is an area the league has now indicated they would like to review with the NHLPA.

“The NHLPA will indeed discuss this matter further with our members at our player meetings in June,” he continued. “The league has also indicated they would like to begin off-season testing, and that is another topic we will discuss with our members as well.”

To date, only Islanders defenceman Sean Hill has tested positive for a PED, while goaltender Jose Theodore was nailed for using a masking agent. Bryan Berard tested positive at an international event, which is outside the NHL-NHLPA program.

“There has been testing of NHL players for the past four seasons and also testing at each of the last three Olympics and numerous International hockey competitions,” Kelly said. “While we continue to review the program and discuss modifications with our members, we are pleased with how the program has operated to date."

The Major League Baseball Players’ Association fought tooth and nail against drug testing, and when it finally did give in, it still bristles when out of season testing is raised. We all know how that turned out for baseball.

The Olympic movement discovered long ago that any program that does not include out of competition testing is toothless.

Until the NHL can say they test 12 months a year, it is impossible to say with certainty whether or not PED’s are being used by NHL players.