NHL cancels first batch of preseason games

The NHL lockout has claimed its first games.

The league announced the cancellation of all preseason games until the end of September on Wednesday, marking the first on ice action wiped out by the work stoppage.

The NHL also announced that the Kraft Hockeyville game in the tiny township of Stirling-Rawdon, located near Belleville, Ont., on Oct. 3 will be postponed until next season.

In all, that makes 61 exhibition games that were eliminated and unlikely to ever be made up. Even if the lockout does end in the near future, it's highly unlikely a full preseason schedule would be played.

NHL training camps were supposed to open league-wide on Friday, with the first exhibition action scheduled on Sunday.

The NHL and NHLPA, however, have yet to meet for negotiations after last tabling proposals a week ago in New York.