NHL Cancels 82 Regular-Season Games
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Christian Petersen/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The NHL cancelled the first 82 games of the 2012-13 regular season Thursday.
All games from Oct. 11 through Oct. 24 have been cancelled, as the lockout continues. There are currently no labor talks set up between the league and the Players’ Association.
“We were extremely disappointed to have to make today’s announcement,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. “The game deserves better, the fans deserve better, and the people who derive income from their connection to the NHL deserve better.”
The holdup between the two parties is financial. The players were getting 57 percent of hockey-related revenue, but that deal expired Sept. 15. The NHL now wants to give the players anywhere between 47 and 50 percent of the revenue.
“The decision to cancel the first two weeks of the NHL season is the unilateral choice of the NHL owners,” NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said in a statement. “If the owners truly cared about the game and the fans, they would lift the lockout and allow the season to begin on time while negotiations continue.”
The Players will lose approximately $120 million in total salary, according to TSN.
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