NHL Lockout May Result To Season Cancellation

NHL Lockout May Result To Season Cancellation

A number of games have been cancelled until January 14 due to the NHL lockout, which may result to the cancellation of the entire 2012-2013 season.

According to Bill Daly, the deputy commissioner of the league, the point of no return for the NHL season will be near the middle of January. It can be recalled that an NHL lockout in the 1994-1995 season resulted to only 48 games following the resolution of the lockout in January 11. Commissioner Gary Bettman revealed earlier that there should be at least 48 games for the season to have integrity.

No meeting was scheduled between the players’ association and the league to resolve the NHL lockout since its last meeting last Thursday. Although the players wanted to get back on the negotiating table to deal with the NHL lockout, the owners did not appear to share their enthusiasm.

The executive board of the union was given the authority by the players to basically dissolve the union, which will allow the filing of antitrust lawsuits by the players against the league. However, the NHL responded through a suit filed at a New York Federal court that argued the legality of the lockout.

The latest announcement by the league has resulted to around 50 percent of the season being cancelled. It can be recalled that the 2004-2005 season was cancelled due to an NHL lockout.

Ever since Bettman assumed the position as commissioner of the league in 1993, three NHL lockouts resulted to the cancellation of 2,323 games or around ten percent of all the games that were supposed to be played under his leadership.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Friday December 21 2012, 4:57 AM EST. Ref: NY Times. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0