NHL cancels remaining November games, pulls offer

• Winter Classic, All-Star Game safe for now
• Union executive Mathieu Schneider says players disappointed by pulling of offer
• Sides haven't met since Oct. 18, when league rejected union offers

The NHL lowered the boom on Friday, canceling the remainder of November's games and pulling its latest offer off the table as the lockout hit its 41st day.

That's another 191 games, bringing the total number of canceled games to 326, or about 22 per team. All games through Nov. 1 already had been canceled.

Safe for now: The Jan. 1 Winter Classic outdoor game between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium, plus the Jan. 26-27 All-Star weekend in Columbus, Ohio. Those could be canceled soon without progress in talks.

Based on last year's revenue of $3.3 billion, the league probably has lost more than $700 million in potential revenue. Even with the month cancellations, arena operators said it won't help them find events to make up for the lost money.

"A lot of these things are booked a year in advance or more," said Steve North, a board member of the Nashville-area Metropolitan Sports Authority. "It reminds me of a saying I used to hear from my grandfather – it's not reasonable to cut off a dog's tail an inch at a time to keep it from hurting so bad."

The decision will cost players two more paychecks. They'll be out 49 working days, technically 26.5% of their salary, although they might be able to make up some lost days if they get a deal done soon. The union had estimated it would lose 12.3% with the league's plan to reduce their share of hockey-related revenue (HRR) immediately from 57% to 50%.

"I think we're closer than it looks," Phoenix Coyotes center Boyd Gordon said. "They're saying that's their best offer, but we'll have to see. Anything can happen. It's just one of those things right now we're kind of in a little bit of a stalemate but hopefully it gets moving."

The NHL, however, said that offer is no longer on the table.

"The proposal was made on the basis of being able to play a full 82-game season," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said by email. "That opportunity is now no longer available to us."

Mathieu Schneider, special assistant to NHL Players' Association executive director Donald Fehr, said players were disappointed by the league's decision to pull the offer.

"I don't think this is something that moves the process forward," he told the NHLPA website. "I think it's something that hinders it. There have been a number of artificial deadlines set throughout these negotiations, and we're going to continue to work through this to try to break the logjam."

The league had held out the possibility of a full 82-game season, starting Nov. 2, but that was based on a deal being reached by Thursday. That day passed without any negotiations as the league rejected the NHL Players' Association's request to hold talks without preconditions.

"As we made clear in the proposal we made, the loss of our opportunity to have a full season will require a different approach," Daly said.

Last week, the NHLPA turned down the league's offer of a 50-50 split in revenues, plus a method to "make whole" lost pay early in the six-year deal by deferring payments. It also came down from its original proposals on contract rules, though nearly all of them are less than what players have now.

The union responded with three proposals designed to safeguard existing contracts while gradually lowering the revenue split to 50-50. The league quickly rejected all three on Oct. 18, the last time that face-to-face talks were held.

"It's been take, take, take on the owners' side and give, give, give from the players' side," Schneider said. "There's got to be a line somewhere and the players have drawn it."

The question is whether fans will also draw the line this time. They returned after the 2004-05 canceled season, but there was anger Friday over the later cancellation.

"If and when this lockout is over, every arena should be filled with crickets for the home opener. Fans should go on strike and show them where their HRR comes from," said St. Louis Blues fan Robert Carr.

Contributing: Josh Cooper, The (Nashville) Tennessean; Sarah McLellan, Arizona Republic