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This afternoon the National Hockey League announced that all preseason NHL games scheduled through September 30 have been cancelled. Following is the official press release from the League:
NEW YORK – The National Hockey League announced today the cancellation of the 2012 preseason schedule through Sept. 30. In addition, the 2012 Kraft Hockeyville preseason game, scheduled for Oct. 3 in Belleville, Ontario, has been postponed to 2013.
The cancellation of the schedule was necessary because of the absence of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL Players’ Association and the NHL.
While the Kraft Hockeyville game has been postponed, many of the scheduled celebrations in the winning community of Stirling-Rawdon, Ontario, will proceed as planned beginning on Sept. 30.
Five preseason Carolina Hurricanes games will be cancelled as a result of the announcement:
- 9/26 - At Columbus Blue Jackets
- 9/27 - At Tampa Bay Lightning
- 9/28 - At Home vs. Nashville Predators
- 9/29 - At Nashville Predators
- 9/30 - At Home vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
The preseason games scheduled for October (10/2 vs. Montreal Canadiens in Quebec City, 10/3 vs. Canadiens in Montreal, and 10/5 vs. the Blue Jackets at home) remain on the calendar for now.
The Sunday 9/30 game against the Lightning was to be part of the annual Caniac Carnival hosted by the Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Hurricanes announced via twitter that the Carnival would still occur but with a modified schedule of events (further updates to follow).