Last Saturday the NHL locked out its players and now the league has announced that it is starting to cancel games.
On Wednesday the league said it would cancel the entire September preseason schedule as well as the 2012 Kraft Hockeyville preseason game, which is scheduled for Oct. 3 in Belleville, Ontario. There were 60 games in total cancelled.
The announcement comes as many NHL players, including superstars Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin, began signing overseas contracts to play in Europe and other professional leagues.
According to ESPNNewYork.com, the game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn Oct. 2 is also expected to be cancelled.
Other games that were cancelled include the Baltimore Hockey Classic between the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets, which was a sellout last year, as well as the "Frozen Fury" game between the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche.
According to a statement from the Washington Capitals, the game last year was a great success, bringing out over 11,000 fans to the first hockey game in Baltimore since 1997.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the league has "no set policy on cancellations" of other games, according to the Associated Press.
The league made similar moves during the last lockout, which lasted for the entire 2004-05 season and resulted in 1,230 games lost.
On Wednesday some reports came out that NHL employees will take pay cuts up to 20 percent and will also start working a four day work week beginning in October.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said on TSN radio Wednesday that both he and commissioner Gary Bettman would not take a salary during the lockout.
The league and the players association haven't had any formal meetings since the lockout began, but have been in contact this week. The two sides are still at odds over salary reductions, economic issues and the split of revenue between players and the league.
The regular season is slated to begin Oct. 11 and if there isn't an agreement soon, those games will start to get cancelled.
The actions of the players signing overseas seem to dictate that some regular season games will be lost.
Ovechkin stated last week that he thinks the lockout will last for a while.
"If the league (NHL) continues to insist on their (demands), then it will take a full year. That's because we are not going to cave in," Ovechkin said. "Then I will spend the entire season in the KHL. It's an absolute reality."
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