NHL lockout 2012: league officially cancels games through Nov. 30

The NHL has officially announced the cancellation of all regular season games through Nov. 30 due to the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the NHL Players Association.

The announcement was merely a formality as it was clear the league would cancel more of the schedule when the NHLPA failed to accept the league’s most recent proposal prior to Thursday’s deadline. The deal, which included a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue with no salary rollbacks, has since been withdrawn by the league.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly stated that the withdrawal of the proposal was not a negotiation tactic because the offer was made in the hope of playing a condensed 82-game schedule, which would have started on Nov. 2. However, reports have stated that not all of the owners agreed with the most recent proposal and wanted to change it.

With this most recent cancelation, the league will lose a total of 326 regular season games (26.5 percent of the schedule) from Oct. 11 through Nov. 30.

Now it seems unlikely that an 82-game schedule can be played this year, according to Daly’s statement on Friday:

”The National Hockey League deeply regrets having to take this action. By presenting a proposal to the NHLPA 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.”