The NHL officially announced the cancellation of regular season games on Thursday afternoon due to the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the NHL Players Association. With the regular season scheduled to begin on Oct. 11 and no end to the labor unrest in sight, the cancellation of games became necessary due to time restraints.
The first set of cancellations will span from Oct. 11 to Oct. 24, totaling 82 games. It's unclear whether or not the league has officially canceled these 82 games for good or if they've simply canceled the schedule. Canceling the schedule and not the games would potentially allow these games to be played as part of a condensed schedule.
This announcement comes exactly one week after the NHL was forced to cancel the entirety of the preseason, which according to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly cost the league an estimated $100 million in lost revenue. One can only imagine how much more the league stands to lose. As of this time, the two sides are not expected to meet again until next week. The last round of negotiations failed to bridge the gap on key issues such as core economics and defining hockey related revenue.
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