The NHL canceled the remainder of its 2012 preseason on Thursday. This means that there will be no hockey through Oct. 8. The regular season, scheduled to begin Oct. 11, now seems in jeopardy.
This comes a little over a week after the league was forced to cancel all preseason games through Sept. 30. The cancellation of the preseason stems from the lockout of the NHL Players Association, which was enacted by the league on Sept. 15 after the two sides failed to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.
The two sides are tentatively scheduled to meet on Friday, which is the first time since Sept. 12 that the NHL and NHLPA representatives will formally sit down at the bargaining table. The meeting will take place in New York and is expected to focus on non-core economic issues.
This is the second lockout for the league in eight years. The NHL last locked out its players in 2004, which resulted in the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season.