Yesterday the NHL announced that due to the labor dispute the first two weeks of the regular season have been cancelled. This translates to 82 games eliminated, with 5 of them being Sabres games. Of the 5 games missed 4 of them were scheduled to be home games. The Sabres were scheduled to open the season versus the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 13. More games could be missed if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is not in place in the immediate future. The NHL and NHLPA are not believed to be close on a deal with the major dispute coming with the slitting of hockey related revenue. Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr met secretly (even though everybody knows about it) in Toronto yesterday to discuss where to go from here. Each side asked each other to come up with a new proposal to put on the table when they meet sometime next week. This can be seen as a good sign because it shows that each side is willing to listen to what each other has to offer and they are willing to negotiate. I remain optimistic that the lockout will end soon and hockey will return. However, I would not be surprised if the season does not start until the Winter Classic.
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