NHL cancels remainder of preseason

Not that it caught anyone off guard, but the NHL canceled the remainder of its preseason games on Thursday afternoon.

 
This is Week 2 of the lockout.

For Flyers fans, that meant losing Monday's exhibition game at the Wells Fargo Center against the New Jersey Devils.

It also means the Flyers lost three road exhibitions -- Oct. 2 at Toronto; Oct. 5 at New Jersey; and Oct. 6 at Chicago, which would have closed out the preseason.

The next announcement, and it figures to come next week, would be the killing off of regular-season games for the month of October.

For the Flyers, that would mean losing five home games, including the season opener Oct. 11 against Boston.

The NHL and NHLPA return to the bargaining table Friday in New York City to talk about non-core economic issues such as pension, arbitration, free agency, etc.

Even if there is agreement on those issues, it would not end the lockout. The lockout can't end until the core economic issues are settled, and right now, both sides are worlds apart.

The talks scheduled for Friday have been extended through the weekend. If they produce something tangible, then expect the two sides to re-open full bargaining on the core economic issues.