The National Hockey League canceled the All-Star Game and 96 more regular-season contests through Dec. 14 with the player lockout in its 10th week.
The world’s top professional hockey league previously had canceled regular-season contests through Nov. 30 and the outdoor Winter Classic, scheduled for New Year’s Day at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The lockout now has caused the cancellation of 422 regular-season games, about 34 percent of the schedule.
The All-Star Game was to be played on Jan. 27 in Columbus, Ohio, home of the Blue Jackets, for the first time.
“The reality of losing more regular-season games as well as the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend in Columbus is extremely disappointing,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. “We feel badly for NHL fans and particularly those in Columbus, and we intend to work closely with the Blue Jackets’ organization to return the NHL All-Star events to Columbus and their fans as quickly as possible.”
NHL Players’ Association spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the league’s announcement.
The NHL and the union are attempting to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. The two sides held a 90-minute meeting this week, during which the NHL asked the union to make a new proposal detailing its position on economic issues. The two sides met again Nov. 21 in New York.
Those negotiations were the first between the NHL and the NHLPA since Nov. 11.
NHL players have been locked out since Sept. 16, the day after the old labor contract expired. The two sides have been unable to agree on changes to player contract rights and how to share hockey-related revenue.
The league said its most recent offer contained an even revenue split between owners and players. None of the union’s three counteroffers was accepted by owners. The players received 57 percent of hockey-related revenue under the previous contract.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net
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