NHL cancels All-Star Game as lockout drags on

The National Hockey League lockout shows no signs of ending anytime soon, and now a third of the season has officially been lost to the work stoppage.

The NHL said that games have been canceled through Dec. 14, and it also axed the 2013 All-Star Weekend, scheduled for Jan. 26 and 27 in Columbus, Ohio.

The NHL has been unable to come to terms on a new contract with the NHL Players Association. So far 422 games have been canceled, or 34 percent of the league’s season.

The two sides had been talking over recent weeks, prompting some optimism that they’d reach an accord before December. But they remain far apart on how to split revenue.

Now there’s talk that the NHLPA may decertify, generally the next step in a protracted labor dispute and one that the NHL will likely fight.

This is the third major lockout to hit the U.S. pro sports world in just over a year, and it looks as though it will be the most difficult to end.

The National Basketball Association lost roughly a quarter of its season last year to a lockout, and the National Football League reached an agreement during the preseason of 2011 that preserved the full 16-game schedule.

The NHL says it is losing up to $20 million per day on the lockout. NBC and NBC Sports Network are the main NHL carriers.

Tags: lockout, National Football League, nbc, nhl, nhl all star game, nhl all star game canceled, nhl games canceled, nhl lockout, nhlpa, sports, sports tv, U.S.