NHL cancels games through December 14
All we want for Christmas is a hockey season!
Unfortunately, it is not looking good. On Friday, the NHL canceled all games through December 14, including the All-Star weekend in Columbus, Ohio in January.
The NFL canceled the games due to the lack of movement in recent CBA negotiations. This brings the grand total of games canceled so far this season to 442 games, which is 34.3 percent of the season.
“The reality of losing more regular-season games as well as the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend in Columbus is extremely disappointing,” said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. “We feel badly for NHL fans and particularly those in Columbus, and we intend to work closely with the Blue Jackets organization to return the NHL All-Star events to Columbus and their fans as quickly as possible.”
The cancellation of the games did not take anyone by surprise, but it marked a depressing end to what was at one point a hopeful week.
“All players felt that this week would lead to something,” Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “However as of today unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s very disappointing.”
The players did bring a deal to the table on Wednesday, but it was not a deal the owners were willing to work with.
“On Wednesday, the players presented a comprehensive proposal, once again moving in the owners’ direction in order to get the game back on the ice,” Donald Fehr, executive director for the NHL, said in a new statement.
The offer that was presented by the players’ union was a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue and $393 million in deferred payments for the players. The NHL offered only $211 million to the players in a proposed deal that took into account that a full 82-game schedule would be played this season.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said that the league is losing $18-20 million per day during the lockout. Therefore two more weeks of cancelled games far exceeds the current economic gap of $182 million that the sides are fighting about.
One thing is for sure: players and owners better start agreeing soon if there’s any hope of salvaging part of this season.
