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On Wednesday, the first NHL games of the 2012-13 season were officially cancelled by the league due to the current lockout.
It was announced that all preseason games through Sept. 30 have been wiped away, with future dates still on the books for now.
The NHL had previously stated it would lockout the players if no agreement on a new CBA could be reached by Sept. 15. Unfortunately, no significant progress was made, leading to the stalemate between the two sides with the regular season scheduled to start in just three weeks.
Also according to NHL.com, the Kraft Hockeyville preseason match scheduled for Oct. 3 in Belleville, Ontario has been postponed for 2013.
With both sides still seemingly unwilling to cross the proverbial line drawn in the sand, the next logical step would be to cancel all preseason games if nothing changes in the near future.
Under Gary Bettman's tenure as commissioner, this is the third work stoppage.
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