The NHL announced the cancellation of the remainder of the 2012 preseason schedule on Thursday due to the player lockout.
Other preseason games through Sept. 30 were already cancelled by the NHL last week. The regular season is scheduled to start on Oct. 11, but the closer it gets to that date without an agreement the more likely it is that games will be lost. The first preseason game was scheduled for Sunday night between the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators.
Notable games that were cancelled include the first sporting event in the new Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, which was supposed to host a preseason matchup of the New York Islanders hosting the New Jersey Devils
The two sides have scheduled to meet on Friday in New York to resume talks about a new collective bargaining agreement.
"Obviously, we've got to talk before you can get a deal, so I think it's important to get the talks going again," Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday to the Associated Press. "But you also have to have something to say. I think it's fair to say we feel like we need to hear from the players' association in a meaningful way because I don't think that they've really moved off their initial proposal, which was made more than a month ago now."
Sources from ESPN.com have said that the new meetings will begin with a discussion of non-economic issues, including medical plans, scheduling issues, drug testing, pensions, grievances and procedural issues.
The two sides are still far apart on money.
The league generates $3.3 billion in annual revenue, 57 percent of which goes to the players based on the last agreements. The league is hoping for the players to lower the number to between 49 percent and 47 percent, up from 43 percent in its original proposal.
The league locked out the players on Sept. 16, which was when training camps were scheduled to begin. Commissioner Gary Bettman is overseeing his third lockout since 1993 and based on the progress so far, the current stalemate could be one of the longest.
In 1992 the players missed 30 days, while the 1994-95 lockout had 468 games lost. The lockout in the 2004-05 lost the entire NHL season and resulted in 1,230 games lost. During the last stoppage, the two sides did not meet to start bargaining until three months into the lockout.
Many players have continued to sign overseas since the lockout began. New Jersey Devils' star Ilya Kovalchuk also signed a contract with SKA St. Petersburg, while superstar Evgeni Malkin, last season's MVP award winner, signed with Mettalurg of the Kontinental Hockey League.
New Rangers star Rick Nash, who was traded from Columbus in the offseason, and San Jose captain Joe Thornton agreed to play in Davos, Switzerland .
Other players who have signed contracts or agreed to play overseas include New York Islanders defenseman Mark Streit, who will play in Switzerland with his hometown team in Bern and Philadelphia Flyers winger Ruslan Fedotenko to HC Donbass in Russia.
Dallas Stars winger Jaromir Jagr, who will play for Kladno in the Czech Republic, and Ottawa Senators defenseman and Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson will play with Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League.
The next step for the NHL, if no progress is made in meetings on Friday, would be to cancel regular season games.
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