NEW YORK — The National Hockey League (NHL) Friday canceled all regular-season games scheduled up to Nov. 30 because of the ongoing labor dispute with players and the absence of a new collective bargaining agreement. The regular-season was originally set to start on Oct. 11 and a week ago the league scrapped all games up until Nov. 1 because of the lockout, raising the prospect that the entire season could be lost. “The National Hockey League deeply regrets having to take this action,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a brief statement. “By presenting a proposal to the NHLPA (players' union) that contemplated a fair division of revenues and was responsive to player concerns regarding the value of their contracts, we had hoped to be able to forge a long-term collective bargaining agreement that would have preserved an 82-game regular season for our fans. Unfortunately, that did not occur. “We acknowledge and accept that there is joint responsibility in collective bargaining and, though we are profoundly disappointed that a new agreement has not been attained to this point, we remain committed to achieving an agreement that is fair for the players and the clubs — one that will be good for the game and our fans.” A total of 326 regular-season games — 26.5 percent of the season - had been scheduled for Oct. 11 through Nov. 30. The decision to cancel all games through November came a day after the Oct. 25 deadline set by NHL for an agreement to be reached. — Reuters
