NHL Cancels Regular-Season Games Until End of November

The National Hockey League has had to cancel all regular-season games until the end of November after not agreeing a new collective bargaining agreement with the players union.

The regular season was originally set to start on 11 October and the league scrapped all games up until 1 November a week ago because of the lockout.

A total of 326 games – 26.5 percent of the regular season – had been scheduled between 11 October and 30 November.

“The National Hockey League deeply regrets having to take this action,” said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

“By presenting a proposal to the NHLPA (players’ union) that contemplated a fair division of revenues and was responsive to player concerns regarding the value of their contracts, we had hoped to be able to forge a long-term collective bargaining agreement that would have preserved an 82-game regular season for our fans. Unfortunately, that did not occur.

“We acknowledge and accept that there is joint responsibility in collective bargaining and, though we are profoundly disappointed that a new agreement has not been attained to this point, we remain committed to achieving an agreement that is fair for the players and the clubs – one that will be good for the game and our fans.”